Well That Explained A Lot
by cynic.in.a.fishbowl
Summary: "Seth, tell me you don't actually shapeshift into a giant wolf and you've formed some permanent connection with me I wasn't even aware of."  "..."  And then I exploded. And he exploded. And we were both giant wolves. Well...That explained a hell of a lot.
1. Chapter 1

I hadn't been here for years. I'd spent childhood here, but then mom had gotten remarried and we moved to Qatar. Why anyone had thought that Qatar would be a good place for me to be growing up, I will never know.

But at last, Kevin's posting was over, and we were able to move back to the reservation.

Mom met my dad at college. He died in the DRC when he was a Blue Beret. Mom doesn't tend to go into the events in between. She doesn't tend to even mention him. It's enough that she named me after him.

I went back to the letter I was writing. It was to Anne-Sophie, the French ambassador's daughter. We'd been dorm buddies at boarding school. It had been run by the British, but even so, in an Islamic country, you cover yourself when you're at school, regardless of who runs the school itself. We were united in the fact that we really didn't like it there.

We kept in touch via email, but since receiving actual letters was so fun, we also wrote to each other. She had moved back to France two years before I moved back to the states. Apparently she was having a marvellous time over there, wearing singlets in public. And getting snowed on in winter.

We both spoke each other's languages, not to mention a few others, but out of courtesy to each other, we both wrote in our native language. If nothing else, it meant that we were more up to date with foreign slang than our language teachers at school.

A while later, the car pulled to a halt. In an instant, I was out of the car, looking around. The place looked exactly as it had four years ago when I had left. I was twelve then, and sixteen now, and although I knew we'd be unpacking for ages, externally, it looked as if we'd never left.

"Oh. My. God. Jimmy?"

I spun around, to see a girl walk out of the woods a few metres away from me. She was over six feet tall, and seemed to be about eighteen. I desperately racked my memory for who she could be. Since she recognised me, I assumed we had been somewhat familiar.

"Leah?" She'd be about twenty-two by now.

"Jimmy! You've grown. You're practically a tank."

Yeah. My dad's name was James. I'd been known as Jimmy all my life. Way to go mom.

"You're one to talk, Leah."

"Wait until you see everyone else here. I was expecting some demure little thing. Weren't you in Kuwait or something?"

"Qatar. I was at the British school. There was rugby. It was awesome."

We hugged. "You really haven't changed since you were twelve. You always played with the boys then, too."

"What can I say? It actually took a while to train them to actually tackle. They kept going on about how they couldn't throw themselves at a girl with the express intent of flooring them. Apparently tackling girls isn't 'cricket'."

"I'll tell the boys you're back. No-one expected you for another few weeks."

"We were going to stay in Seattle for a while until we were able to get more stuff out of storage, but I really wanted to get back here. How are Colin and Brady now anyway?"

"Sixteen and too hormonal for their own good. What do you think? I've got to head off, but I'll tell them you said hi. No doubt they'll visit sometime soon."

"Thanks. Good to see you again."

"You too." She said before heading back into the woods.

When we were young, Colin, Brady and I had been like triplets. We'd kept loosely in contact over the years, but as far as I knew, anything could have happened in the past four years. I just hoped they weren't Goths.

I went inside, only to be presented with a pile of rugs and a baseball bat and be told to beat them out. They'd been in a closet, but had somehow still gotten dusty. Just my luck.

As it turns out, baseball bats are quite ineffectual. So I moved onto Tae Kwon Do. That was more effective. As was boxing.

I was on the last of the twelve rugs (who has the need for twelve rugs anyway), delivering a perfect roundhouse kick to the middle of it, when I heard "Holy shit, Jimmy! Where'd you learn that?"

I turned around, only to exclaim "Holy shit, guys, when did you start looking like you were in your mid twenties?" I was only sure it was them because at a certain point, who else could it have been. When I'd last seen them, they had been scrawny little twelve year old boys.

They exchanged a slightly guilty glance. One of them then said "The growth spurt kicked in early."

"Just tell me it's not steroids." After all, it was a plausible explanation.

"Just genetics." Said the other. Damn it. I needed to find out which was which.

"I'm really sorry about this, guys, but you look nothing like I remembered. Mind reminding me who's who?"

"Shame on you, Jim. I'm Colin, and he's Brady." Colin was the taller one, and Brady had green eyes. In retrospect, I should have picked up on the eye colour – it hadn't changed. It had been a while.

"So…you available?" asked Brady.

"Tool." Colin punched him in the arm. "But seriously. We should at least get a head start on everyone else."

"Yeah. We've known you the longest."

I could tell they weren't serious. Good to see I was one of the boys again.

"Fraternisation with the opposite gender was forbidden at school."

"This is you we're talking about." Pointed out Colin.

"Fair call, I suppose. Yes, I'm available. I broke up with Tom just before I flew back here."

"OOOOOOOOOOH. Who's Tom?"

"Captain of the rugby team." I'd made the boys team after I made five tackles in three minutes. Two of them involving me throwing myself at him while he had possession.

My fling with Tom (it hadn't really been a relationship, more just us letting off a bit of steam) had been fun, and we were still friends, but neither of us was going to be pining after the other.

"But seriously guys, I would never even consider going out with you guys. It would be like incest."

"Nice. Way to make it weird. We just wanted to get our facts straight before we start repelling every guy who wants to 'get to know you better'."

"Thanks, guys. Good to know you still see me as a sister."

"Hells to the yeah, and as a result, it's our duty to ensure you get with no-one."

"You're such douche, Colin."

"Harsh, but fair. You just got back here?"

"A few hours. It's good to be back."

"Good to have you back. You'll be coming to school tomorrow, right?"

"Tomorrow will be a Wednesday, won't it?"

"Awesome." They said in unison.

"We've got to go," said Brady, "But we'll give you a ride to school. The last thing you want is to be dropped off by your mom on the first day."

"Thanks guys." I returned to attacking the rug.

"Seriously, Jimmy. Where did you learn that?"

"The most important thing a girl can learn is how to defend herself."

"Shit. Remind me not to piss you off."

"I'm pretty sure you'll remember, Colin. I could probably still kick your ass, tank as you are."

"That, I doubt, shorty." He said before he and Brady went off on their merry way, leaving me to wonder how on earth I was going to find any of my school stuff. Not to mention how the British curriculum would mesh with the US one.

Oh well. I assumed that all of today's rekindling of acquaintances was over. Tomorrow was bound to be hectic. I hadn't seen anyone in four years, and judging by how Colin and Brady had turned out, I was in for a few surprises.

I walked back inside with the rugs, only to be met by Kevin.

"Hey, Jim." He pronounced it like 'Jum' because he was a New Zealander. He tended to speak his vowels somewhat strangely. "Who were those two?"

"Colin and Brady. They were my best friends here. Seems they still are." I grinned. "And I won't be needing a ride to school. They've got me covered."

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable with you sharing a car with a bunch of sixteen-year-olds."

"Relax, Kevin. They know that should anything happen, first I'll kill them, and then Mom will. Numerous times. And anyway, you know I'm sensible."

As I walked down the hall, I heard him mutter something along the lines of 'Sensible my ass. Sensible girls don't get caught necking rugby players.'

"It's not my fault I got caught." I called out. The shit had really hit the fan when mom had walked in on Tom and I engaging in a rather heated make-out session. That had been somewhat awkward. Kevin had almost given me 'the talk'. I had assured him that it had nothing to do with a lack of male authority figure.

I was still completely jet lagged so I dumped the rugs where mom would no doubt find them and headed upstairs to my room. Which was lacking a bed. Great. I ran back downstairs and carried up my suitcases. Once in my room, I pulled a blanket out of one of them, and just fell asleep on the floor. I'd probably wake up stiff, but I didn't care at that point.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey Leah._

_Colin, Brady._

_Thanks for the heads up about Jimmy being back in town._

_You're welcome. You do realise that you can't just go back to the way things were four years ago._

_Don't we know it. The first thing she asked was why we were so huge._

_Huh. Go figure. I never would have pegged her as the girlfriend of anyone. Figurative brother perhaps… You guys saw how strong she looked._

_Yeah. You don't think she's got the gene, do you?_

_Wouldn't have a clue. We'll find out in a couple of months. If she does, it'll raise a hell of a lot of questions about how the gene gets inherited – it's obvious she's a halfie, and her mom's from the rez. I thought the whole passed through the make line stuff was ridiculously chauvinistic._

_I still kind of hope she doesn't have it._

_Agreed._

_I mean you had it pretty shit, I hear. _

_Jake never was able to keep his brain to himself. At least if she joins us she'll have someone to talk her through it. _

_Here's hoping it doesn't get to that._

_Amen, brother._

_So, boys. I take it from your demeanours that neither of you imprinted on her._

_Argh! That would be weird. She's like our sister. You don't go and imprint on your sister. Ever. It'd be weird._

_I suppose. I don't however think that either of you has failed to notice that of the past two new girls to move here, both happened to be imprinted on._

_Technically one of them wasn't new, she just hadn't been here since everyone started shifting._

_And how does Rachel's situation differ at all from Jimmy's?_

_Shit._

_Agreed. There are numerous things I don't want in my head. The details of anyone making out with Jimmy are high on the list._

_Well, should it happen, let's hope they're able to keep their thoughts to themselves._

_Well let's think about this logically. Of the boys who are as yet unattached, there's Embry, Josh, Max, Tim, Jez and Sean. Embry, Tim and Sean are the least likely to leak images._

_You forgot Seth._

_Brady, I don't even want to think about my little brother imprinting on anyone. As cool as Jimmy is, I still don't want to think of Seth with anyone. It would be weird. And you both know how good he is at keeping his thoughts to himself._

_Thanks for the vote of support, sis._

_Anytime. It's true, you know._

_Agreed._

_Seconded._

_Silence, children._

_Oh come off it, Seth. You're only two years older than us. _

_But in terms of experience –_

_Yeah, right, pipsqueak. You forget that I have memories of you that you never want to see the light of day. Ever. And I'd be perfectly happy to recall them when everyone's gone wolf._

_You wouldn't…wait, what am I saying. You totally would._

_Exactly. And don't you forget it._

_Just as I was leaving, mom mentioned that Jimmy was back in town._

_Finally. Good to have the three of us together again._

_And just to give my opinion, Colin, I do actually think she could still kick your ass._

_Thanks for the vote of support, Brady._

_Anytime. You know I'm always here to bring you – Holy shit._

_You're kidding._

_Is that even possible?_

_Shit._

_You already said that._

_Do you dispute it?_

_No._

_Seth, please tell me that was not what I think that was._

_I have to go._

_Seth? Shit. That was what I think it was, wasn't it._

_I'm hoping not, but from what I hear, that could well have been._

_Shit. I've got to go tell mom. And then Jake. And perhaps Sam._

_We can do that for you._

_Thanks guys. He's been acting weird towards me._

_It's the whole thing between you and John. Not to get my psychiatrist hat on or anything, but I don't think he was really ready for you to move on._

_Have you been watching Dr Phil again, Colin?_

_Perhaps. _

_Well, I'm off. Tell Sam – the last thing we need is an incident._

_Yes sir._

_That's more like it._

…

_Leah?_

…

_She's gone. _

_Ok. Shitshitshitshitshit. This cannot be happening. _

_I reckon. This is weird in the extreme. Seth can't keep his mind to himself to save his life. _

_We are going to be mentally scarred before the year is out. _

_Oh vengeful god, why? Why her?_

_At least it was someone fully grown. All this stuff with infants weirds me out no end._

_Agreed… we're here. I call dibs on not actually telling him._

_Dickhead._

_I'll tell him next time. _

_You don't even know there'll be a next time._

_Exactly._

_Dickhead._

_Come on. You don't want to postpone it for yourself. You know I don't like this any more than you._

_Fine, but you have to provide detail. I'm just laying out the subject. You're explaining._

_Dickhead. _

_Now we're even._

_Oh well. Let's go._


	3. Chapter 3

Wednesday morning dawned, and with it the realisation that I would actually have to work out what to wear. Say what you will about the British school system, but at least they mandate what you have to wear for five days of the week. It makes mornings so much easier when all you have to do is put on your uniform.

As a result, it was seven in the morning when I wailed down the hall "Mooooooooooooom! What am I supposed to wear?"

"Clothing!" was the rather useless reply elicited.

I looked through the suitcases to find what I could wear. I then realised that if I had to wear actual clothing every day, I'd need to expand my repertoire. As it turns out, when you only need to choose your own clothing two days out of seven, you don't accumulate that many items of clothing. I pulled out a pair of jeans, and then opened my window and stuck my arms out to ascertain the temperature. It was sleeves weather. It was of course late October, which should have alerted me to the fact that it was bound to be somewhat chilly, but when you live in the desert, it's hot during the day and cold at night regardless of what season it is.

Having showered and gotten dressed, I went downstairs to make myself some tea. Tea is a marvellous invention. I was eating cereal when mom came downstairs to survey me before my first day of high school.

"Have fun. We've sent all of your transfer papers ahead, just go to the office at the start of the day and they'll sort you out."

"Thanks mom. I'll give you the rundown this afternoon."

"Don't talk to any strange boys. And don't campaign to be allowed to join the Football team. Just go with something gender appropriate."

I rolled my eyes. Mom lived with the perpetual fear that I'd get horribly injured. It was warranted, but still irritating.

"Better yet," she continued, "Join the marching band."

"I play cello."

"Orchestra then."

"I'll sort out sports first. Then I'll see about music."

"Just promise me no football."

I raised my eyebrows in a manner that said 'you know I'm going to regardless'.

She sighed and gave me a hug just as a car horn sounded outside.

"I'm off. I'll be fine." I said as I picked up my bag and headed out the door.

I exited the house to see a pickup truck which seemed quite familiar and had Colin behind the wheel.

"Is this the truck that used to be just sitting outside your house lacking most of its engine?"

"Yep. Brady and I fixed it up last summer when we got our permits."

"Awesome. Tell me, what's the football team like here?"

"Not likely to allow a girl to join." Answered Brady.

"Are you sure?"

"There's probably some rule forbidding it. And if there isn't, there will be soon enough."

"We'll see." This would be a nice challenge.

A few minutes later, we entered the parking lot. Colin and Brady then led me to the office. I was somewhat curious as to why everyone was giving me such a wide berth, but then I realised that it was probably because I was flanked by two giant muscly man-boys.

I entered the office and approached the desk. When the woman at the desk turned to me, I had barely identified myself when she handed me a timetable, locker number and combination.

I took the pieces of paper and turned around to see Colin and Brady exchanging a markedly significant look regarding something or someone outside. I brushed it off. We hadn't seen each other for four years; things were bound to have changed. We were still getting along well, so I wasn't about to complain about how things were going. As far as I knew, it was secret men's business.

We entered one of the buildings, and I was taken back by the sheer numbers of lockers. Having attended a boarding school, lockers weren't really necessary. Colin and Brady left me at my locker and continued on to theirs, leaving me to try to open my locker. It wouldn't. I put the combination in about four times before I tried resorting to brute force. That too failed.

I was interrupted in the middle of my rant of low level curses and obscenities as I tried to jerk the door open – I think somewhere around 'evil sodding obnoxious horrible blasted piece of demon excrement' when a voice next to me enquired if I needed any help. Somewhat frustrated, not to mention slightly upset that things weren't working so early in the morning; I stepped aside and indicated the door of the instrument of satan which had been assigned to me.

The body attached to the voice was an incredibly tall and unbelievably muscular one. He gave the door a few tugs before he leaned down to look at the dial.

"You put in your combination?"

"The one I was given."

"Take a look here – there's a groove at zero on the dial: it's a design feature. On yours, the groove's aligned with the ten. The previous guy to use it must have changed it. Try adding ten to each of the numbers."

I did, and it worked. "Thanks." I grinned, and finally got a look at the face of the guy who had helped me. Not at all bad looking. "I'm Jimmy."

"Seth. Leah told me you'd just moved back."

"Oh, right. I remember you. You've grown. A lot." He'd be a senior by now.

"So have you. The last time I saw you, I don't think you were even close to five feet."

"What can I say? Four years is a while." I paused for a moment. "Am I meant to put my books in here…what is the function of this torture device?"

"You put your books in it. There's a ten minute break between each lesson so that you can go back to your locker and such. Surely that's the same everywhere."

"Not really. I was at the British school. Classes were immediately after one another. We just carried our books around with us. We definitely didn't have these." I indicated my locker which once opened turned out to be internally decorated by a Marilyn Manson and Slipknot fan. I'd have to work on that.

"You do have a bit of a British accent."

I snorted. "According to them, I had the strongest American accent they had ever heard." A bell rang. "What does that mean?"

"It means it's time to go to class. What do you have?"

I looked at my timetable. "AH in E14. Is that Ancient History?"

"American. Do you know where E14 is?"

"I didn't know what a locker was for. Do you really think I know my way around here?"

"Point taken. I've got class near there; I'll show you where it is."

"Thanks. I was just about ready to try kicking down the door. Then I probably would have burst into tears. I don't tend to deal well with inanimate objects beating me."

"Well we can't have that. Come on. This way."

I followed. "Tell me, Seth. How am I meant to address the teachers?"

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Not in the slightest. At my last school, teachers were referred to as Sir or Miss in accordance with their gender."

"Wow. Just use their name. For example, you've got Mr Hale for American history. You'd just refer to him thus."

I nodded. That was simple enough. We arrived at a classroom with E14 emblazoned above it. "Thanks for showing me how to get here."

"No problem. See you around."

I walked into the classroom.

"Are you lost?" asked the teacher.

"I'm James Carter. I'm the new student."

"Of course." He said. "With a name like James, I had expected a boy."

"I get that a lot. Also, I prefer to go by the name of Jimmy."

"Jimmy Carter. Good god."

My name tended to elicit that kind of reaction. I suppose that was to be expected.

"Everyone…Oi! Class has begun." The background noise subsided somewhat. "Where is there an empty desk?"

Everyone pointed towards a table in the middle of the classroom.

I made for the desk and got out a notebook and a pencil case. It wasn't long before I realised that I had glaring holes in my assumed knowledge. Past sixth grade standard, I knew nothing about American history. I could answer questions using my knowledge of international history, but I'd really need to get up to scratch. I was basically just lacking facts.

At least while I was in class I wasn't getting lost. The bell rang, and almost on autopilot, I got up and went to the door, but the moment I exited the classroom I had no idea where I was meant to be going. I stood there in mild disorientation before Seth appeared and enquired as to whether I was lost.

I told him that I was, and hopelessly so. On the way back, he pointed out landmarks I could use to remember the route. Which helped. Once back at my locker, I opened it successfully and looked at my timetable. I had world history in room E12. It was, as I had guessed, down the hall from E14. Thankfully.

I had opted to do more history as opposed to Home Ec. The whole premise of the subject was distasteful to me. And there was no way in hell mom would have let me take woodwork, auto or metalwork. So I made do.

World history was far better than US history. Here, I knew the assumed knowledge and then some, as in the British school system, history was always world history, and merely either Ancient or Modern history. The looks of surprise on the teachers faces when they realised that James Carter was in fact a girl, and one who preferred to go as Jimmy continued.

As did they in gym. As it turned out, the gym was the great big building that looked like a gym. Luckily for me, it was the lesson in which we were merely explained the fundamentals of (I kid you not) badminton. This was ridiculous. Back in Qatar, school sport had consisted of netball at the easiest. Badminton in my opinion didn't even qualify as a sport. But that was my opinion.

At the end of the lesson, Coach Smith happened to remark "And boys, as you know, I'm holding trials for the football team on Friday. If you're interested, see me once the lesson finishes."

Lo, the bell sounded and I immediately made my way over to Coach Smith along with three other boys. Coach smith took one look at me and pointed out that unless I was a boy interested in trying for the football team, we had nothing to talk about.

I responded with the fact that whilst I couldn't do anything about my gender, I had been a fairly gun rugby player. As it turned out, since my school had been the only one in Qatar with a Rugby team, we became by default the under 19 Qatar rugby team. I left out the fact that it was by default.

He looked at me with slightly more respect. "What did you play?"

"Hooker." It was the position I generally played, because it called for someone who was able to dodge around defenders. "Occasionally five-eighths." Ditto.

"I see." Clearly Coach Smith wasn't well versed in ruggers terminology.

"The person slightly behind the halfbacks who is actually an attacker and who, should the ball get behind the halfbacks, promptly gets the ball and runs it out to the try line."

Coach Smith was lost in thought for a moment. He then said "Come along to trials on Friday and I'll see how you go."

I thanked him for the consideration and made my way to my locker again. That hadn't been nearly as hard as everyone had made it out to be. I was fairly sure I'd be fine when it came to the actual football. The presence of a girl was bound to throw those who would generally be the ones doing the tackling.

From there I went to the cafeteria where I had said I would meet up with Colin and Brady to discuss the day so far. I sat down with my sandwich at a table taken up by Colin, Brady and Seth. They were deep in conversation when I walked up, with enough food to feed a small mercenary brigade, but the moment I entered earshot they immediately broke off their conversation. The moment was awkward for a moment, until Brady took the initiative and said "Jimmy, this is Seth."

"We've met." We said at the same time.

"Our lockers are next to each other." I elaborated.

Colin and Brady exchanged yet another significant look. I raised my eyebrows at them for a moment.

"So, how's your first day of high school been?" asked Colin.

"Not too bad, I must say. I'm going to have to work really hard to get up to speed on US history, but otherwise, everything's been great. But they can't seriously consider badminton to be a sport."

"They don't." replied Colin. "They have to pander to the lowest common denominator of co-ordination."

"Huh. And I totally just got approval to try for the football team." I let a note of gloating enter my voice. "It actually wasn't that hard."

"What did you do? Hypnotise him?" Brady was amazed.

"I gave my ruggers credentials."

"Which are…" Brady was still amazed.

"Rugby is a very British sport. My school was the only one in Qatar to have a team. Thus by default, we were the national school-age team. I just left out the default bit when I explained my past experience."

"Nice." Colin was impressed. "I still don't reckon you could kick my ass."

"You want to try me? Turn up to trials."

"There's no point. Seth here was on the team for a while, but everyone kept testing him for 'roids."

"Sissy."

"You wouldn't have a hope."

"Oh yeah? I could roll you when we were twelve, and I've learned a hell of a lot since then."

"So have I." responded Colin somewhat enigmatically.

"Watch the trials on Friday. Then tell me what you think."

"Done."

"Are you sure that's the best thing for you?" asked Seth, the first time he'd spoken in a few minutes. "They're a fiercely misogynistic bunch, and there's more than one who might try to seriously injure you to make a point."

I was somewhat taken back. "Like what?"

"Girls shouldn't play football."

"Is that your opinion or theirs?"

"Theirs. I'm fine with it – girls tend to be better at strategy. But seriously. Football is brutal. So are they. And if they think their football is threatened…" he trailed off.

"Rugby's brutal too. And we don't wear padding. I'll be fine. If nothing else works, a well placed knee can do wonders."

"Well. That's something I have to see."

"Feel free."

"Just look out for the linebackers. They don't like their football to change. You are definitely a change."

"I'll keep that in mind. But seriously. You have no idea how much practice I have tackling boys."

Colin and Brady both coughed something which sounded suspiciously like 'Tom'.

"You guys are such tools."

"Forever at your service."

"Who's Tom?" enquired Seth.

By then, the conversation had turned into a tennis match with Colin and Brady turning to look at each of our expressions as we talked. It was a touch disconcerting.

"He was my boyfriend at school. He moved back to England about the same time I came back here. It wasn't anything major; it's just the whole long distance thing seemed a bit difficult."

"And how does that make you feel?" asked Colin in a voice I remembered all too well.

"Brady, you promised me that you'd stop him from watching Dr Phil!"

"I try, I really do. He just keeps managing."

"Seriously, Colin. It's weird."

"Thankyou, Seth. See: he's on my side."

Yet another significant look. These were getting to be worryingly ubiquitous.

French was way too easy. It was infantile in comparison to what I'd been taught in Qatar, and what I used for correspondence with Anne-Sophie. I expressed this sentiment to the teacher whose name I had forgotten almost immediately. She gave me part of the written section of an old SAT paper. I did it in five minutes. She took one look at what I'd written and sent me to the classroom next-door where senior French was taking place, along with a note saying that I was well above standard, and she wasn't going to waste my time by keeping me in the junior class. She also sent me with the SAT paper, upon which she had written 'five minutes'.

The senior teacher was impressed as well. I was told to take a seat. The only one available happened to be next to Seth. This class was also rather easy. Thus I wasn't really concentrating. This meant that I noticed the fact that Seth kept glancing at me. I assumed he was somewhat confused as to what I was doing in his class.

Once the class was over, he leaned over and asked what was happening with my French. I explained that when your dorm buddy is French, you pick things up.

"So you're going to do SAT French this year I assume?"

"I wouldn't have a clue. All I know is that junior French was killing me."

"You were in there for fifteen minutes. Twenty tops."

"Imagine what a full lesson might have done."

"So you're very good at French then?"

"I have experience the rest of my classmates were sorely lacking."

"Would you mind helping me revise for the surprise speaking exam everyone knows he has planned for tomorrow?"

"Sure thing. Tell me, how are you at American history."

"Better than I am at French, that's for sure."

"I just need to learn the basics of everything taught after about the sixth grade."

"That I can do. Your place or mine?"

"Mom and Steve are bound to be at home unpacking. I don't think they'll be too thrilled about me bringing home random guys."

"I'm hardly some random. We were on that soccer team when we were in elementary school."

"Don't remind me. That was a painful experience."

"The trampling was unfortunate."

"Yeah. Broke my arm pretty horribly. And then I rebroke it two years ago in a scrum accident."

"Scrum accident?"

We'd arrived at our lockers, and so after opening the door to mine, I pushed up my left sleeve to show the scarring. It was extensive.

"What happened?"

"We were in a scrum. Harrow was on a rugby tour, and they were delayed returning to England because of weather. They were only in Qatar on a stopover, but there was some pretty shit weather going down and planes were going to be grounded for about a week. So they played a few games against us while they were in the country. We were in a scrum, and I was hit in the head by someone's elbow. I was knocked out just as the scrum broke up. One of their centres trod on my arm, and his cleats shredded me up real good. I was lucky they were able to get it closed without skin grafts."

"And you still think football's a good idea."

"No scrums."

"Come on. My truck's in the parking lot. Does your arm still work as well as it used to?"

"There wasn't any muscle damage. It gets painful right before there's going to be a sandstorm, but I doubt that's going to be an issue now."

"No shit."

I excused myself for a moment and ran over to Colin and Brady to explain the chain of events. As I turned away from them, I could have sworn I saw another significant look.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hi Leah._

_Jake. Colin. Brady._

_Hey._

_Yo._

_You were there at school. What the hell's going on with my little brother. He won't talk to me, he won't talk to mom…_

_He won't talk to me either. _

_Hard to say. He seemed reasonably normal at school. Hang on, we'll show you._

_Wow. If he's imprinted –_

_He has, if what I got from your memory was anything to go by, Leah._

_As I was saying, he's got pretty fantastic control. He's the first one not to just sit there mooning. But on a somewhat unrelated note, what's the likelihood she goes wolf?_

_Hard to say. She's already far more buff than average._

_She's a rugby player._

_Even so. We'll just have to see whether she starts growing really quickly._

_Did we miss much?_

_Not really. Just discussing the possibility of Jimmy going wolf._

_Quil guesses a month._

_Thanks Embry. He thinks three._

_Any other predictions?_

_She looks like I did just before I first shifted._

_It's a possibility, but not a definite. _

_Let's hope not. Her parents don't seem the kind to warm to the whole shifter thing._

_In the meantime, we need to get him to shift so that we can talk. I'm thinking multi-sided attack until he tells us what the hell's going on._

_How the hell are we going to get him angry enough to phase? He's always been pretty mellow, and from what I've noticed from you and Quil, you're harder to piss of when you've imprinted._

_You're his sister, Leah. You'll think of something._

_Thanks Jake. Colin, Brady, is it safe for me to head home?_

_?_

_Are they studying French and history or are they 'studying French and history'?_

_Oh God! That's a bad image there. But I doubt it. She's known him for about a day, and if she's anything like she was four years ago, she'll be keeping it clean. _

_Thank heavens. There are some things I just don't want to see/hear/be subject to._

_Amen._

_I'll talk to Sam and see what he thinks about the possibility of Jimmy's shifting. Quil, you talk to old Quil. Leah, ask your mom what she noticed before you shifted. And try to get him to phase tonight. Everyone be ready to phase for a pack meeting. I have complete confidence in Leah's ability to piss Seth off sufficiently to make him phase._

_You're such a douche, Jake._

_It's true._

…

…

…

…

_Brady? You still there._

_Sure thing, Colin. This is beyond weird._

_Agreed. Do you want her to shift?_

_It'd definitely make things less weird. I think we've got to stop the significant looks. I think she's catching on._

_This is Jimmy. She'll never guess the truth in a million years._

_That's true._

_And it would definitely make it more like the good old days. Hells yeah. The three of us, but able to read each others thoughts. How awesome would that be._

_Thoroughly. I say six weeks. _

_I give it five._

_You're on. Bragging rights for all eternity are at stake here._


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh my god, Seth, you sound as if you're from texas."

"How is that?"

"Say the verb 'to re-enter'."

"Rentrer."

"Exactly. When you pronounce the letter 'r', you do so as if you're speaking English."

"And that's wrong…?"

"Yes. French is like German with regard to some consonants. The 'r' is formed at the back of the throat. If you're tempted to, god forbid, roll your 'r's, then it's definitely too far forward. Pretend you're trying to…dislodge phlegm."

"That's a lovely descriptor."

"It's apt. Try it again."

Seth's face contorted and he just started spluttering.

"You've got to be kidding me. You've been learning this language for what, three years, and no-one ever pointed this out to you?"

"Speaking isn't required for the SATs."

"It's not? Wow. Well. That changes things. Why do you then have speaking tests?"

"Just in case any of us intend to continue French as a tertiary subject. All the tests are really is reading a passage aloud. I had a feeling I had a few pronunciation issues, hence you hurling abuse."

"You're saying that no teacher ever pointed that out to you? You didn't even notice they were doing it?"

"No, and not really."

"Wow. Alright, just read that, and I'll hurl abuse if you start sounding like the second coming of Bush."

As he started reading, and rather well, apart from the deployment of the consonant I'd been berating him about, I couldn't help but notice the fact that he'd definitely changed for the better over the past four years. Be still my beating hormones. He'd gotten through about five sentences when I stopped him.

"I know that now's probably a bit late for me to try correcting something your teachers should have noticed ages ago, but try this. Feel my larynx when I talk, and then try to emulate what you feel me doing." Seth hesitated for a moment, before tentatively touching the base of my neck.

"My larynx is up there." I pointed out, taking his hand and moving it to the appropriate place. His hand was warm to the extent where it seemed excessively so. I shrugged off that feeling – I needed to acclimatise to the weather here before I could start passing judgement on relative body temperature. We were sitting on the living room floor in his house with a French textbook open in front of us and a pile of history books next to Seth.

I started reading the same passage. After a bit, I got Seth to try again. He'd improved. Not enough for it to no longer be an issue should he ever need to converse with someone in French, but it was definitely less glaring. Then came the history.

"All the stuff you learned in elementary school is no longer necessary in high school. You're not going to be asked to list the presidents in order of their terms in office. Nor do you need to remember the Gettysburg address in its entirety. That which was taught in middle school is summed up entirely in this textbook." He held up something which looked about three hundred pages thick. Piddly by textbook standards. "Freshman history was mainly a recap of middle school, with the exception of world war one, which is this book here." He handed me another book, this one slightly smaller than the first.

"But the USA did diddly-squat in world war one. They only entered in 1917 so that Wilson could have bragging rights and a chance to turn Versailles into a circus where he could unveil his idea of a league of nations, which wasn't even his idea: he took it from Bismarck's Congress of Vienna."

Seth grinned. "That kind of attitude is going to get you failed. Just read the textbook and regurgitate the facts according to America when needed. There's a reason the subject's called 'American History'."

"I am so not a fan."

"It's school. You're not meant to be. Soph history was everything after World War I and before the Cold War started up."

"Oh. You mean the time period when America buggered up the world economy by giving Germany the money they needed to pay reparations to the French, which the French then invested in American industry, thus ensuring a circularity of money that culminated in the collapse of wall street? Following which the economy was so screwed up that they needed a war to get it back on track?"

"Yeah. That time period."

"Goodie."

I happened to catch sight of the time – it was then half past four. I then remembered that I hadn't told mom I'd be home late. That was one of the perks of boarding school: I didn't need to.

I got up, saying "I've got to head home. I forgot to tell mom I'd be late and my cell phone doesn't work here."

"I'll walk you. It's not that far."

I agreed and we set off. We were barely on the road before Seth was back to the football.

"What possessed you to put yourself forward for football trials?"

"It was a spur of the moment thing. Seriously. I doubt there's a rugby team anywhere south of, say, British Columbia, so I have to make do."

"By playing a sport that has a ridiculously high rate of serious injury?"

"The injury rate's only high if you don't get out of the way of a tackle or if you get hit at the wrong angle."

"Or when you've got a bunch of hormonally unstable boys thinking that you're threatening their manliness by playing football."

"I'm really getting the feeling that you think they're going to try to kill me, and it's a touch disconcerting."

"It should be, because they might."

"I'm willing to take that risk."

"Just to let you know, I'm going to be there, entirely ready to throw guys off of you should they to assert themselves too hard."

Aww. How touching. Tom had said something along those lines when I'd made the rugby team. "That's nice, but I'd really rather practice throwing and such. Kevin's going to be useless at overarm – he's kiwi and thus a rugby player."

"One second." Seth jogged back to his garage and pulled a football from under a pile of tools. He handed me the ball, and I gave it a few experimental tosses to try to get the feeling of how it would fly. It was smaller than what I had previously known as a football, and smoother, thus making it harder to grip.

"Is it always this slippery?"

"Some guys wear gloves to get a better grip."

I tossed him the ball as if I were playing rugby.

"And there's none of that. Throwing is done overarm. Try to get some spin on the ball as it leaves your fingers. It'll make the aim better." He walked back a bit and threw the ball to me. I caught it easily, probably in part because he had only been a few metres away. I threw it back, attempting and failing at overarm.

"Don't treat it like a baseball. Act as if it's a javelin." He threw it back. I then attempted to emulate. And failed again.

"We're nearly at your house. I'll show you in depth once we're there."

Once at home, I dumped my bag at the front door, noticed a note from mom on the inside of the door saying she was stocking up on essentials, and then headed to the backyard with Seth in tow.

Once again, he demonstrated throwing, and once again I didn't pick up on what made it work. Finally, Seth made a frustrated noise and put one hand over mine and the other on my shoulder.

"You pull back slowly, and then explode forward." He said, taking me through the movement. Now it made sense. It was a touch irritating that I hadn't managed to pick up on that on my own.

After I actually mastered the idiocy of an overarm pass, we spent close to an hour just throwing the footie around. Seth headed home just before the heavens opened and the deluge began.

I remembered the constant rain. Initially I'd missed it, and then I got used to being dry all of the time. Now it looked like I'd have to acclimatise back.

Mom got home eventually. She enquired as to the quality of my day. I gave a condensed summary. I avoided extraneous mentions of boys. Or really the one boy with whom I interacted and whose presence would distress my mother. She seemed pleased. I also avoided all mention of football. I didn't think she'd take it overly well.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hello Leah."

"We need to talk, Seth."

"Was that 'we' referring to just the two if us, or the collective?"

"What do you think."

_Hey bro. How's it holding up?_

_Fine thanks Quil._

_Good to know._

_Thanks for that Leah._

_It wasn't exactly a struggle. You could have done it yourself. Not to mention the fact that he's had 18 years to get used to me. You'd probably be better at pissing him off should the need arise._

_Always a ray of sunshine, aren't you._

_I have to spend a large portion of my time listening to the minds of adolescent boys. It gets grating._

_Noted. Now: back to the matter at hand. Seth – enlighten us as to what the hell's been going on._

_I've imprinted._

_And…?_

_I'm expending most of my energy stopping myself from appearing to be a stalker. She's not looking for eternity just yet. I'm just biding my tine until she is._

_Ugh. Seth, there are some things I never wanted to hear you think. That was high on the list. _

_I'm with Leah. I didn't need to hear anyone thinking that about Jimmy._

_And now, Brady knows how I felt listening to Paul think about Rach. It's weird._

_Well that was far easier than expected. If you gentlemen will excuse me, I have places to go._

…

_Someone's going on a date._

_Agreed._

_She's right. We're done for the evening. Quil and Seth, you're patrolling with me. Catch the rest of you later._

…

…

…

_Alright Seth, Leah's not listening any more. How're you holding up?_

_Looking at her is painful, because I know I can't actually do anything._

_So you're torturing yourself by being near her even though you can't act on your feelings?_

_Yeah._

_Welcome to the club, buddy. Claire's six. You've got a year to wait, tops. I've got at least a decade._

_Respect._

_Both of you seem to be forgetting the fact that I have a family of vamps ready to eviscerate me if I so much as think about anything. And they__ know__ if I've been thinking about anything._

_Anyway, she's four._

_Intellectually, she's past college, and she looks ten._

_Dude, still._

_I just realised: Seth probably has the most normal imprint. Think about it: Sam screwed Leah over, and her cousin only agreed to even talk to him after he almost killed her; Paul and your sister… I'm yet to see you manage to see him without practically radiating murder; Kim was practically stalking Jared by the time he went wolf and imprinted; you've got the end result of the marriage between your best friend and nemesis; and I've got a six-year-old._

_Nice to know man. Although I'm slightly worried she might have a deathwish. She's trying for the football team._

_Ah, high school. That was a fun time._

_Apart from the lycanthropy._

_Steady on there, mr advanced English. But I hear you, Seth. I don't need to ask whether you'll be there._

_No you don't. Even so, the team hasn't changed much since I left it. There's every likelihood they'll rip her limb from limb before I can do anything about it._

_If she can still kick people in the nuts like she could when she was twelve, she'll be fine._

_You're the only one we haven't asked yet. Do you reckon she'll go wolf?_

_For her sake, I hope not. I don't want it to fuck her over like it did Leah. That and how the hell would we explain it to her parents. But even so. She looks like she could have the gene, but it might not be triggered yet. But I'd guess yes._

_Keep it up man. At least with Nessie, I don't really have your issues. I mean she's four. Jimmy's sixteen. There's nothing legal, moral or familial stopping you two._

_Thanks for reminding me._

_Cold showers. They work wonders._

…

_Go to hell Jake._

_He's gone._

_Damn. He's getting good at that._

_Agreed. If you ever need to vent what is inevitably to be your boundless frustration, feel free._

_Ditto, man. I now understand what you have to deal with. She's just so perfect. I mean the first time I actually saw her in person since she left, she was fighting with her locker and cursing it in her faintly British accent. She looked like she was about to start kicking it._

_And according to Colin and Brady, she's rather good at that._

_That's reassuring. This is going to be tough, isn't it._

_As you've no doubt started to discover, every second away from her is painful. Every second you're with her is even more painful for you, because you need to act as if you don't already have prior knowledge that you're made for each other. Just keep remembering that the inevitable is that you'll be happy forever. It's just a matter of getting through the time until then._

_Thanks, man._

_Anytime._


	7. Chapter 7

Thursday was an infinite improvement on Wednesday. Among other things, I could find my way to most of my classes.

At lunch, I had Seth explain to me the rudiments of American football. Now that I could throw without seeming as if I had a congenital condition affecting my motor skills, I had to actually know more or less how to play the game.

All I can say is that it was a pointless sport too deeply rooted in violence. This was just adolescent boys venting violence. Rugby – now that was a real sport. But I digress.

Friday dawned in a drizzly manner. After four years in a desert, I had gotten used to being dry all day. It seemed I'd have to acclimatise back. Bummer. The sun was feebly shining, and the big drab birds were making the moderately unpleasant noises that big drab birds are wont to make.

Nonetheless, I was in a good mood. I had to spend about ten minutes searching for my rugby socks, but soon I was dressed for school, with my rugby gear in my bag, ready for me to get my violence on. I was pumped. Mom and Steve had left early to get to Seattle, and so I was able to eat my cereal as I polished my cleats in peace.

In the car with Colin and Brady, I was informed that my presence had facebook all aflutter. New kids, even if they were in fact old kids who had just been away for a while, were a rarity. I was unfazed. There was bound to be more comment after the afternoon's football try-outs.

Arriving at school, I headed to my locker to stash my football gear for the day. Opening it, I caught sight of a folded piece of paper. I picked it up and unfolded it to read

Good luck.

Seth.

p.s. don't bother keeping your eye on the ball.

You'll see it in time to catch it. Keep your eyes on

the linebackers. They come out of nowhere and do

significantly more damage than footballs.

The postscript startled a giggle out of me. I folded it and slotted it in my filofax. Closing the locker door, I saw Seth at his.

"Thanks for the note."

"Not a problem. Colin and Brady would eviscerate me if you got yourself injured. I'd also feel quite guilty."

"Even so. If you remember anything else, pass it on. I'm going into these tryouts completely blind. I've never even played gridiron before."

"It's easy to pick up. Just imagine it's a…what were your words?...oh yes. Imagine it's a 'move violent creole of rugby played by a bunch of sissies wearing body armour'." He retorted, flouncing around slightly and putting on a bit of a british accent. It wasn't my fault it had rubbed off onto me.

Hmm. So he'd remembered my comments. Oh well. One takes whatever sports one can. I smiled guiltily.

The bell rang, and I made unto math. Which was boring.

As was English. World history was interesting, if covering topics I'd already studied. Lunch consisted of Colin and Brady making a last ditch attempt to convince me that football would be detrimental to my health. I politely suggested they remove their heads from their behinds. And then assured them that I could look after myself.

Science was fun in the fact that we were doing a practical involving acid. Everything's more fun with acids.

Gym was the last lesson of the day, during which Coach Smith instructed me to use the cheerleader's changing room prior to tryouts. I then spent the rest of the hour playing badminton. It was ridiculous in the extreme.

The bell finally rang for the end of the day, giving me half an hour to get changed into rugby gear and onto the field.

I returned to my locker and pulled out my bag of rugby stuff, which involved my cleats, socks, jersey and shorts. This was going to be fun.

I closed my locker to find Seth leaning against the door of his. He was good at turning up without warning.

"You wouldn't be able to show me where the cheerleader's changing room is?" I enquired.

"Follow me. I didn't think Coach would advocate you using the away team's dressing room like the rest of the hopefuls."

We weaved through the corridors, eventually ending up in front of a door labelled 'cheerleader's only'. I internally prayed that Coach had cleared this previously with the powers that were, and then entered.

I was barely in the door when one of the girls already in there called out "Hey everyone, it's that girl who's trying out for the football team." She turned to me and held out her hand. "I'm Holly." she said to me. "I'm the captain."

"Jimmy. I need no further introduction it seems." I responded.

"You're the first time a girl has gotten Coach's approval to trial. We'll be practising next to the field. So we'll all be watching to see how it goes. It'd be awesome if you make it: it means there'll be at least one footballer who isn't some slightly overdeveloped Cro-Magnon."

I merely raised my eyebrow as she led me to a locker next to a bench with some space in it.

"Go for it." She said before going off somewhere to do whatever it is head cheerleaders do.

I inhaled, exhaled, asked myself why in the name of all that was remotely holy I hadn't developed a penchant for a safe sport like tennis.

The first thing I did was put two sports bras over the normal one I was already wearing. One can never be too sure. I pulled on my jersey, which had CARTER and the number 13 emblazoned on the back; then changed into my shorts and pulled on the knee-high socks I'd initially hated, but now couldn't imagine playing without. Then came my cleats, which were black with a stripe of blue the same colour as the rest of my uniform. I felt ready for some righteous rugby.

"Alright Jimmy. Coach said you'd need direction getting to the field. We're heading off. Come on."

"I have only been here since Wednesday." I justified.

"Really? And you're already trying out for a team."

"I played on the equivalent of the national team." Technically.

I followed the cheerleaders through what felt like a maze of tunnels, ending up on the football field where I could see Coach Smith standing with the football team, all in uniform, and a gradually growing group of boys not in uniform. I jogged over to join them, and ignored the strange looks and whispering the presence of a girl excited.

I stood, arms crossed, waiting for something to happen.

After a minute or so, Coach yelled 'Clearwater! Are you here to rejoin the team?"

"No Coach." Replied Seth. "I'm just here to watch. I've known Jimmy since she was born, and I'm interested to see how rugby meshes with football."

"You and me both. Hang here, I'm going to need your help when it comes to getting the new ones into padding after the initial cull of hopefuls."

Suddenly remembering that my hair could potentially get in the way, I tucked my braid into my jersey.

'Good idea.' Mouthed Seth.

I stuck my tongue out at him, and then turned to face Coach Smith who had just blown a whistle exceedingly loudly.

"Alright, hopefuls. We're going to start out with basic fitness and agility. You're going to run around the field, keeping to the sidelines, except for when you will be dodging the half-hearted tackles aimed at you by the players you can see stationed around the perimeter."

Sure enough, the team were spaced out around the field.

"Should you be tackled, or should you be in the final…" he paused as he did a brief headcount "five," there must have been about sixty or seventy boys there. Wow. "You will be out of the running. Now go."

And off we ran. Wearing cleats, I was able to get better immediate traction, and was thus leading the pack as we ran to the sideline. By the time we reached the sideline, there were three boys in front of me, which was exactly what I'd been aiming for. Buffers are good in all aspects of life.

From what I could see, the team members would make an apathetic lunge at whomever was running at them. From what I could see, speed didn't necessarily mean the ability to dodge, as the first two boys were tackled before they'd even made it to the first corner. I didn't know what was going on behind me, but I stayed about ten metres behind the boy in front of me so I could get a feel for the tackles aimed at me. We got through untackled, and watched the rest of the hopefuls get weaned down. About thirty were tackled, and the last five were out of the running, thus leaving thirty-five including myself who were about to see what else was in store for us.

"You all need to be able to tackle without the buffer of padding. Get into two lines." We did. "You'll be running at the players in front of you, and you'll be tackling them. Coach Johnson and myself will be assessing you with regard to strength and flair. The fifteen who impress us the least will again be out of the running, at which point we'll be getting the names of those of you who remain."

Coaches Smith and Johnson moved to be in line with the team members we'd be tackling and indicated for the first two boys to go for it. I watched. They were enthusiastic, but didn't really know how to tackle people when they weren't wearing body armour. I did, however. After watching the first tackle, I took my mouthguard out of my pocket and put it on.

My turn came, and I made for my assigned player at slightly off full tilt. When I was about a metre away, I shifted so that my right shoulder hit him in the centre of the chest, my momentum knocking him over, with me on top. Usually in rugby, about three of my team members would then pile on to ensure he wouldn't be able to move towards the try line until the ref called the tackle, but in this case, I merely climbed off him and then offered him a hand to get back up.

That was fun.

As I walked over to join the rest of the guys who had already had their run, I heard someone say 'Holy shit, she's a girl.'

I smirked slightly, rolling my shoulder around in its socket to minimise bruising. This was turning out to be easier than I had been expecting.

When everyone had had a go at tackling, Coach Smith pointed out the fifteen who hadn't made the cut before telling the remaining eighteen of us to get suited up, indicating a pile of what I assumed was the body armour I so derided.

Seth and a few team members stood near the pile to hand out shoulder thingies, chest plates and helmets. They then demonstrated on Seth how to put them on. The end product was me feeling stupid with my centre of gravity thrown off.

"Alright. One by one, I'll get your name, send you over there, where you will be thrown the ball, at which point you'll need to make the fifteen yards to the goal line. This will happen three times. Let's start with you." He pointed at a guy standing a few metres away from me.

Noticing that Seth was next to me, I poked him in the arm before asking "Are we allowed to drop kick?"

"Drop kick?" he seemed unfamiliar with the terminology.

"You hold the ball in your hands, and then you drop it onto your foot as you kick, sending it through the goalposts."

"Yes."

Good. Drop kicking was incredibly useful in some situations.

A few guys had their goes before I was called.

The format was five on five, but after the applicant (i.e. me) got the ball, they stopped running, and let the hopeful take on five defencemen. The first time, I sidestepped the only defender near me, to score reasonably easily. The second time, I had to dive over the line to avoid being tackled forcefully by three defenders at once. The third time I got the ball, I could see that there was no way in hell I'd manage to get past the defenders, who were coming at me like a wall. A very painful wall.

I took two steps forward and dropkicked the ball. I was right in front of the goalposts, and the ball went right through, earning me a smattering of applause from the team. Thankyou rugby.

With the final tests done, Coach Smith told us that a list with those who had made the team would be put up on Monday. He then asked me and a boy who looked rather like a mountain gorilla to stay back. We were told that we had made the team without question; he as a linebacker, and me as a kicker. I had watched enough Glee to have the general idea of what my role was.

The other guy had gotten the ball over the line with two defenders hanging off him, which was quite impressive. We were taken to get properly fitting padding and uniforms, and then we were told that practice was on each afternoon from three until half past four, and games would start in a month on Friday nights. I was told I'd be using the cheerleader's changeroom.

Laden with my new gear, I walked past the cheerleaders at practice (earning a thumbs up from Holly) and back into the school building where I was met by Seth.

"Nice work." He said, taking some of the padding off my hands.

"Thanks. It was fun. I didn't even need to throw anything."

"Thank heavens. You're really going to need to work on your passing."

"Overarm is illogical. It's so much easier to intercept."

"And also next to impossible when wearing all this." He indicated the equipment in his hands.

"Does Colin still think he could take me?"

"He's revised his position on that issue. You were pretty intense out there."

"You should see me at the end of a rugby game. I'm bruised, covered in grass and generally incapable of speech."

"Nice image."

We had arrived at the entrance to the cheerleader's changing room. I took my poncey body armour off Seth and carried it in and over to the locker where my other clothing was. I stowed my new gear, took off my cleats and lay down on the bench.

Shouldering guys in mild armour was a hell of a lot more painful than just shouldering guys. I took off my jersey to see what my shoulder looked like. It was already very purple. Remembering that Seth, Colin and Brady were waiting for me, I showered quickly and got changed. Putting on my shirt was rather painful, but it was unfortunately necessary. Putting my bag strap over my left shoulder so as not to exacerbate the bruising, I exited, only to be bear hugged by Colin and Brady at once.

"That was so awesome." They said at the same time.

"Just take me home so I can work out how I'm going to tell my mom."

"You're injured?" asked Seth.

"Shouldering is only the safe option when they aren't wearing armour." I responded, pulling across the neck of my shirt to show my fast developing bruise.

We arrived at the carpark, at which point it was discovered that Colin and Brady were heading to the various junk yards to get components for whatever they were working on, which meant I was riding with Seth.

We got into his truck (everyone here seemed to drive trucks. It was weird.), and as he started driving, Seth asked if I was going to be ok.

I responded in the affirmative. It was a nasty bruise, not an abscess.

We arrived at my house, and from the cars parked in the driveway, I could tell that my mom and Kevin were home. I thanked Seth for the ride, and was partway through unclicking when I realised just how bruised my shoulder was. I could barely move it by then. The mere action of reaching across for my seatbelt made me wince.

Cursing quietly, I used my left arm and extricated myself from the truck. Closing the door, I asked "Does it look like I'm injured?"

Seth grinned. "Not really. Just keep it covered and try not to bump into things. Kathy need never know."

"Damn straight. See you at school."

He drove off as I entered the house.

"I'm home." I called out.

"You're late." Responded my mom from the backyard.

"I was doing stuff."

"I have no doubt. What stuff."

"Football tryouts…" I inflected upward as I edged back into the house.

"I asked you not to." she groaned.

"I didn't say I wouldn't."

"I'm unimpressed."

"Sorry mom. I got in, if it's any consolation."

"That's even worse. It means you'll actually be playing it!"

"I'll unpack my room…"

"You were going to be doing that anyway. You can set up the bookshelves in the living room and then we'll talk."

Mom and Kevin had both proven totally inept when it came to putting together Ikea products. Seemingly, degrees in political science didn't come in handy when it came to interpreting pictographic instructions. This was going to be tough with a shoulder that I couldn't move without pain. Oh well. It needed to be done.

Our talk involved a hell of a lot of bargaining. The end result was that I was allowed to play football as long as I also joined the school orchestra, which I'd been planning to join anyway, so basically I got the good end of the stick.

I went to bed early – my shoulder hurt and we didn't have any painkillers in the house. I really needed to rectify that situation.


	8. Chapter 8

_Good god, Seth. You are such a lovesick puppy._

_Ha ha. Nice pun Jake. At least she's not a toddler._

_I'm not even going to bother responding to that._

_Because I'm right._

_If I wasn't worried about your sister kicking my ass afterwards, I would totally kick yours right now._

_What can I say. She comes in handy._

_Good to know I'm loved._

_Hey Leah._

_So. Anything new?_

_Regarding?_

_Anything._

_Everything's pretty routine. No-one looks like they're heading to phase, no new vamps have turned up, Seth is totally lovesick… nothing new._

_Douche._

_I've been called worse._

_Yeah. By Leah mainly._

_Hi Colin. Brady._

_Yo._

_Well. Colin and Brady are patrolling tonight. I'm off. …_

_Yeah. To hang out with a bunch of vampires._

_He's phased already._

_Damn. He's really good at that._

_You boys have fun. Seth, if mom asks, I'm patrolling._

_You're almost twenty-two. Aren't you a bit old for that kind of thing?_

_As long as I'm living at home, which thanks to the wolf thing should be pretty much forever, I'm not too old to lie to my mother about my whereabouts._

_You owe me._

_And I have no doubt you'll collect. In the meantime, …_

_Hey guys, can I ask a question?_

_Sure._

_Would you say it's too early to ask Jimmy out._

_Yes._

_Definitely._

_You haven't even known each other for a full week._

_I resent that. We all grew up together, remember._

_That was prior to us being twelve. It doesn't count._

_There was the soccer team._

_Oh god. The soccer team._

_I thought we'd all agreed never to mention that again._

_Sorry. When would be a good time?_

_Never?_

_Ignore Colin. What he meant was… umm… let's re-evaluate in mid-november._

_How about mid-never?_

_It's gonna happen. We may as well get it over with._

_Dude. It's weird. Seth, you'd better keep your brain to yourself. _

_Yeah, man. There are some things we don't need to know._

_I'll keep that in mind. And guys, try to limit the significant looks. I think she's catching on._

_To the fact that we all shape shift into giant wolves? Not bloody likely._

_Just saying._

_Hang in there man. You'll get there._

_Eventually, she'll love me. It may take a century or two, but she'll get there._

_Dude. Overshare._

_Sorry. …_

_Ick. Ickickickickick. I'm going to have to disinfect my brain. _

_Me too. Argh. _

_Do you think she likes him?_

_Already? It's a bit early to tell._

_You've still got an opinion though. Psychiatrist hat and all._

_Dude. So not wearing it at the moment. _

_So put it on._

_Well, the fact that they were studying as opposed to 'studying' on Wednesday means it wasn't love at first sight on her part. That having been said, they are getting along mighty well._

_We're getting along mighty well with her might I point out._

_We're also practically her brothers._

_True dat. How long do you think it'll be before she twigs that there's something a bit odd going on?_

_If we keep up the looks, about a week. If we don't… I'd say a few days after someone tells her about how we all went from little stick boys to giant muscle men in the space of a few months each. _

_Or when she starts getting really tall really fast, heals quicker and starts getting really mad at the drop of a hat._

_Well. At least it'll be interesting._


	9. Chapter 9

On Saturday morning I awoke bright and early due to my accidental rolling onto my shoulder.

Ouch.

Suppressing numerous bilingual obscenities, I looked at the clock on my wall. Sweet mother of flying jellyfish, it was only half past six. Grumbling to myself, I got out of bed.

I knew mom would be flat out this weekend renewing old acquaintances (everyone on the rez is pretty close) and introducing Kevin the six foot six Kiwi. Or Kiven as he pronounced it.

I was planning to go on a run before I was dragged along by my mom, so I got changed before dragging myself downstairs to see what varieties of cereal mom had purchased. Cornflakes was starting to get really boring.

Success! There was both apple cinnamon Cheerios and Allbran. Getting a plastic bowl (the kitchenware still hadn't arrived) I proceeded to mane myself a bowl of a combination of the two: the sugary goodness of Cheerios combined with the cardboardy fibrous goodness of Allbran. Mourning the absence of a newspaper, I sat down to the same breakfast I had been eating since the age of eight.

While eating, I noticed that although my shoulder still hurt like buggery, it was far less purple. More a medium shade of violet with yellow and green patches. That was pretty fantastic for overnight healing.

I was putting on my runners when mom came down the stairs, saw my shoulder and freaked.

"What the hell is that?"

"A bruise."

"From football? You didn't feel the need to inform me of your getting injured?"

"It didn't come up in conversation."

"Because you purposely omitted it!"

She was right, but for whatever reason I was getting really mad. My hands were shaking as I did up my shoelaces. Wishing to avoid any more arguing, I walked to the front door and wrenched it open.

"And where are you going?"

"For a run. I'll be back by nine."

Slamming the door behind me, I took a few deep breaths to try to calm down. I was usually pretty mellow. The breathing wasn't working, so I just started running the few miles to the beach. I felt the need to sweat, as if to purify myself from the anger I couldn't shake. Strenuous exercise always made me feel better.

After a while I reached First beach, which I hadn't seen for years. By then I was feeling a hell of a lot more calm, so I took off my runners when I reached the sand and walked over to the driftwood tree. Leaving my shoes by the roots, I used the footholds Colin, Brady and I had carved when we were younger so that we could climb to the top. Sitting on a branch, I looked out over the ocean just like I had when I was younger.

It was good to be home.

"Jimmy!" I heard someone call from my left.

Turning, I saw Seth walking toward me.

"Hey." I called back. "What are you doing awake at this ungodly hour?"

"I went for a run. Yourself?"

"Yeah. Mom freaked about my shoulder and I decided to avoid unnecessary conflict."

"Of course."

"I'm being dragged along by mom as she says hello to everyone and introduces Kevin."

"He's the giant stepfather?" Seth asked as he climbed up the tree to the branch I was on.

"Says the giant eighteen year old. He's a Maori. They all tend to be giants."

"Wait until you see everyone. Everyone's grown a lot over the past few years."

"If you, Colin and Brady are anything to go by, I wouldn't doubt it. What happened? Did someone start spiking the water supply with growth hormones?"

Seth laughed. "Nahh. Genetics just kicked in."

"And how."

I watched the waves pound the shore for a while.

"Do you guys still surf?"

"From time to time. We also cliff dive these days."

"I remember that. I was always too young."

"Not any more."

"I'm still getting used to the fact that things have changed over the last four years. Now that I'm back here I keep thinking I'm twelve."

I felt a twinge from my left arm. That was odd. It felt like it used to just before a sand storm. I rubbed it and glanced around. I then saw the source of my discomfort. A mass of storm clouds was heading in from the northwest. It looked like my arm was getting good at predicting storms.

I pointed to the clouds and said "I'd better start heading home. That looks nasty."

"That it does. Come on. I'll walk you."

He jumped down from the branch – about twelve feet.

"That didn't look safe." I remarked as I used the footholds to climb down.

"It's less dangerous than it looks."

"I'll take that under advisement."

I was picking up my shoes when I realised that Seth was barefoot.

"You don't wear shoes when you go for a run?"

"I couldn't be bothered looking for them this morning."

"Of course."

"Don't look at me as if I'm insane."

"I'm not judging."

"You totally are."

"I suppose. It's not painful?"

"Nahh. My feet have toughened up."

We talked all the way back to my house. Upon our arriving there, Kevin happened to be outside.

"Kevin, this is Seth; Seth, Kevin." I introduced. They shook hands, although I noticed Kevin was starting to develop murder eyes.

"I'm off." Said Seth, raising his eyebrows infinitesimally at me. Clearly he too had noticed the murder eyes.

"See you." I responded whilst awaiting Kevin's inevitable interrogation.

"So who was that?"

"A friend."

He raised his eyebrows. "He looks rather old."

"You've got to be kidding me. He's eighteen. We were on a soccer team together in elementary school." Bad memories there.

"Eighteen?"

"Oh come on, Kevin. He's one of the few people at school whom I know."

"You're telling me that you didn't have any close friends who were girls the last time you were here?"

"I grew up in a pretty male heavy area. We're just friends."

"Be thankful it was me who saw that instead of your mum." Kevin, being from an ex-British colony, said mum instead of mom.

"I am somewhat grateful for that." I said as I went inside to take a shower and get changed."

"It's half past eight, Jim. Get changed fast." Mom called as I walked past.

"Sure thing. Sorry about omitting the whole bruise thing."

"Don't do it again, or so help me I'll start poking you every day when you get home from school, just to see if you're injured or not."

I rolled my eyes.

"And don't roll your eyes." she called up the stairs. Damn, she was good.

As the day wore on, I realised that Seth hadn't been exaggerating. Everyone was huge. People who had gone off to college prior to my leaving, who had been normal sized at the time, were now back at the rez and giants. Brady's older brother Max was nearing seven feet, as was Colin's older brother Tim.

Jake, who had babysat me when I was younger, was a giant, as were his best friends Quil and Embry. Quil's older brother Josh, Sam, Paul and Jez, Jared and Sean were all huge. I was starting to think that if it hadn't been the water supply it was something else, because any guy I saw below the rough age of thirty was a giant. It was weird.


	10. Chapter 10

"So that's the girl Seth imprinted on?"

"Yeah."

"She is so about to phase."

"That's what we reckon."

"That'll be interesting."

"No doubt. Gotta go, pack meeting."

_Sorry guys. I was talking to Josh._

_That's cool, man. Alright. Everyone's here. I take it you've all been visited?_

_Yep._

_Yeah._

_Uhh huh._

_Alright. Do you think they worked it out?_

_Jimmy and Kathy haven't heard the legends for a couple of years, and even so, probably just think of them as legends. I don't think they're going to be putting two and two together and getting packs of wolves._

_As may be, Quil, but Kevin looked like he noticed something. Some Maori have similar legends, and who's to say they're not true._

_Or, Leah, he was just suspicious of the fact that Jimmy is all buddy-buddy with a bunch of threatening looking guys. Her mom didn't seem overly thrilled either._

_Embry has a point there. What did your families think with regard to the possibility of her shifting?_

_Old Quil and Josh both think it's a definite._

_Max gives it a month._

_Tim gives it two._

_Mom says about a week and a half._

_Wow. _

_That was her going off what I looked like before I phased. Her guess might be wrong._

_Embry?_

_My mom doesn't know, remember._

_Oh yeah. I keep forgetting that. Just to run over the ground rules again: no dropping of hints around Jimmy. No coded references. Colin and Brady, you have got to cut out the significant glances. If she doesn't work out you're giant wolves, she'll just start thinking you're in a cult._

_We kind of are, bro._

_Silence, plebeian._

_Who do you think you are? Benign autocrat?_

_I prefer malignant, but whatever._


	11. Chapter 11

"Shit. Was she military in a past life?"

"Nahh. The military tend to have some semblance of ethics. I'd say she was the malignant dictator of some hapless democratic republic somewhere."

"Good point. Someplace unstable."

"DRC?"

"PDRK?"

"Shit. I think she's noticed we're not awed by her potential wrath."

Andrew, the wide receiver with whom I'd been exchanging whispered editorials, and I fell silent as Holly continued ranting at the assembled team. It was Monday after training, and we had been hijacked by Holly who was lecturing us about the importance of the upcoming fundraiser. A car wash. On Saturday. Ick.

"You will all be in attendance, and you will all be perky and enthusiastic. And you will all be shirtless. We need some variety of mitigating factor to explain why we charge so much for carwashes. Sex sells. Be there at 8. That is all."

"So, Prez. Shirtless."

"In your dreams, Andrew." With a name like Jimmy Carter, I had automatically been nicknamed 'Prez'.

"I'm sure I get an exception."

"You heard her. Sex sells."

"This is a school thing. I'm pretty sure it has to stay PG13." Please god let it be PG13. I sent Andrew a pre-emptive death glare before jogging after Holly.

"Holly!"

"What can I do for you, Prez?"

"When you said the football team would be shirtless…" I trailed off. She got the vibe.

"Oh come on. I may be cruel and unusual at times, but I assumed you'd know I grouped you with the cheerleaders on this one. Bikini, shorts, a flannel shirt if you think it completely necessary. Unbuttoned."

She must have noticed I hesitated for a moment.

"Do you even own a bikini?"

I shook my head sheepishly and she groaned.

"You live on the Quileute reservation, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You'll see. Catch you tomorrow!" Holly grabbed her bag and practically pranced off.

Not liking the implications which could have sprung from her parting comment, I showered, changed and then headed out to the parking lot where Seth was waiting, leaning against his pickup.

"How was debating?" I asked, trying to create some smalltalk.

"Later. First up, what's on your mind? You have murder eyes."

I got into the passenger seat and buckled up. And then sat there for a while. After about a minute, I turned to look at Seth who had been staring at me the entire time.

"What?"

"You're going to talk about whatever's bothering you, or I'm not starting this truck."

I considered my options of a moment, then unbuckled, pressed the hood release button before Seth realised what I was planning, got out of the car and propped open the hood. I then had to hesitate. This engine had been severely modified. My hands were hovering over the engine bay when Seth grabbed them and pinned them behind my back, thus preventing me from actually touching his handiwork.

"What might you be trying to achieve here, Jimmy?" He whispered into my ear in a manner which was overwhelmingly… well… sexy. The sheer aura of manliness radiating off him was impressive.

"I'm trying to find the jump cables so that I can get it started without you." I said whilst still scanning the bay for what I needed. "You taught me how to hotwire a truck when I was eleven. I'm pretty sure I've still got it."

"You can't drive."

"I was going to burn that bridge when I got to it. Which at this point I doubt will ever happen… you can let go of my arms. I'm not going to touch any of your mods."

After a pause he let go. "So why the murder eyes and avoidance?"

"It's stupid."

"I've got all day." He said, folding his arms.

"Carwash. Bikini. Me. I'm so not looking forward to Saturday."

"You'll be fine. And debating was reasonably average." He said answering my initial question.

"Why debating anyway?"

"Same reason I'm a mathlete. I'm good at it, and they don't constantly ask if you're on steroids."

I raised my eyebrows as I got back into the cab.

"Ok, so they still ask, but it's not like it makes a difference."

"You are such a nerd."

"Hot nerd." He corrected.

I snorted. His phone beeped. He checked it.

"I just got a text from Leah asking when you'd be home. Do you have any idea what that might be about?"

"Sadly none. Yourself?"

"My sister works in mysterious ways. I've learned that the best thing to do is not question her methods and not keep her waiting."

"I've got a massive feeling of foreboding going on here."

"You'll be fine."

"You say that like you're not sure."

"You'll be fine."

"If I'm not, I'll make sure my ghost haunts you ad eternam."

"Ooooh. I'm terrified."

"You know I'd have a badass scary ghost."

"Because you're so badass and scary now."

"I try."

"And fail. Maybe it's because I remember you before you…" he seemed to be searching for the correct words. "Grew, but I don't think I will ever be able to consider you scary, much less badass."

"Nice save."

A few minutes later we arrived at my house. Where Leah was sitting on the hood of her truck.

"You'll be fine." Seth reiterated.

"You keep saying it, but it doesn't get any more reassuring."

"It makes me feel better." He replied. Odd choice of reply.

I got out of the cab and walked towards Leah.

"Ok, Jimmy. We're on a schedule. Dump your books and get your wallet. We're going bikini shopping."

I groaned.

"That's right. Holly called me. Get on with it."

I followed instructions, dumping my bag in my room, and putting my wallet into a smaller one. I wrote a note to my mom telling her where I was and locked the house behind me.

Leah and Seth were having a discussion which cut off abruptly at my reappearance.

"Alright, Jim. Let's head off."

Seth drove off, and I got into Leah's truck. "Why are you the one Holly called?"

"I was head cheerleader when she was a freshman. I'm the one who instituted the girls in bikinis rule."

"You were a cheerleader?"

"I was THE cheerleader."

"I don't doubt it."

"Holly said she wants you wearing something that will ensure that when your teammates look at you, they entertain thoughts which will make them feel awkward around you for a while."

"She did, did she?"

"Be a sport. There aren't that many girls around here if you haven't noticed."

"I had picked up on that."

"So drink a cup of concrete and harden the fuck up. You are going to do this, and you are going to enjoy it."

"Yes sir."

"Now we're talking." She smiled and switched on the radio to a rock station. "How's your shoulder, by the way?"

"All healed, which was crazy fast. How'd you find out about it anyway?"

"Seth. Apparently you got banged up good at trials."

"Not really. I just never learned how to tackle people wearing armour."

"I take it you're learning?"

"Fast. Where are we going, anyway?"

"Port Angeles. When it comes to shopping, Forks is kind of pathetic."

"How far is it?"

"About half an hour."

"Shit. We really are in a backwater."

"Oh yeah. You'll get used to it. Again."

_Forty-five minutes later…_

"You're kidding me."

"No, dearie. I'm deadly serious."

"I will get you while you sleep, Leah."

"I look forward to it." She responded with a smirk. "Now let's go. I'm on a bit of a schedule here."

"Oh god. There's more?" I bemoaned as I changed back into my clothes. Admittedly, the bikini looked good on me. That didn't however mean I had any intention of wearing it in public if I didn't have to.

"Stop being so enthusiastic. No, there isn't more. I just have to be home by seven."

"You have a curfew?"

"Like hell. My boyfriend's meeting the family."

"Sounds like fun."

Leah made a non-commital noise. "It's not that I'm worried they won't like him, it's just that I think mom might not approve."

"Why? He's not covered in tattoos is he?"

"No! I have standards. He's a medical intern. I'm more worried that either mom won't approve, or his parents and mom won't get along or something."

"I take it Seth isn't a worry?"

"They've already met. And tonight is just for the parentals to get to know each other. We'll deal with the siblings later."

"So you two are getting serious?" I asked as we walked towards the registers.

"Yeah. I'm taking him to the next tribal council."

I'd forgotten about them. All the big kids and parents would go, leaving the rest of us under the care of the relatively older kids.

"You'd be old enough to go now." Leah continued.

"When's the next one?"

"Late November. The full moon."

I raised an eyebrow.

"It makes choosing a date easier." She explained.

We walked back to her truck for the drive back to the rez.

"How're you settling into the swing of things here?" asked Leah as she started driving.

"I'm getting the hang of everything again. Gradually. It's a change."

"I can see that you, Colin and Brady are still tight."

"Seriously, having those two around has been so helpful. Most of the time if I don't know what I'm meant to be doing, I just copy them. Seth's been great as well."

"I'll bet he has." Leah muttered. I rolled my eyes. I doubted that what she insinuated was in fact the case.

"Back onto the subject of your significant other," I segued, "Name, rank, serial number etc."

"Let's see… John's 26, he's a medical intern at Seattle Grace hospital. I met him when I had to take my study partner to emergency because the idiot dropped a wrench on his foot and broke a bunch of bones." Leah noticed my incredulous expression. "I'm studying mechanical engineering and taking a course in auto mechanics. Anyway, back to the story. George, the wrench on foot guy, had passed out on the way to the hospital, so I basically had to carry him into emergency. So there I am, carrying in this 200 pound varsity footballer, I had to have him in a fireman's hold just to stop myself from overbalancing,"

"Why were you the one to take him?" I enquired.

"Honour. And brotherhood. In mechanical engineering we spend a lot of time working with heavy machinery. You need to know that the people you're working with have your back. Me and John went to high school together, so we partnered up at the very beginning of the course. So I'm carrying him into emergency, and this gorgeous guy in scrubs pops up out of nowhere and gives me a hand. He also bypassed the queues and took us straight to one of the exam rooms. And so we've deposited George on a gurney, and this guy just looks at George, then looks at me and goes 'did you two have a fight or something?' in this completely dry tone. I pointed at his shoe, which by then had blood seeping out of it and said he'd dropped a wrench on it. He just looked at me with the strangest expression on his face, and I was like 'it was a really big wrench.' At that point, he introduced himself, I introduced myself, and he says 'I'm going to have to get his shoe off to take a look at the damage. You stand next to him and get ready to hold him down if he wakes up.' So I'm standing there watching his face in case he starts coming to, and I hear John cutting away at the shoe to get it off, and then he just paused and was just like 'holy shit'. So I glanced over to see what he was looking at, and let's just say George's foot was very dented. So he paged a specialist, and then sat and waited with me and the still unconscious George for a specialist to come, and we chatted, he asked for my phone number, George came to, George was sedated, I agreed to get coffee with John at some point, the specialist turned up, I saw some freaky shit get done to George's foot, George's parents turned up to take him home to sleep off the morphine, I went home. The next day, I get a call asking if I'm able to get a coffee with him. Things went from there."

"How's George's foot?"

"Better. He is now far more careful with tools."

"One would hope so."

"How about yourself?" Leah asked. "Do you have a significant other?"

"Not at the moment. I'm still getting used to life here again."

"I hear you're quite the football player." She remarked, changing the subject.

"Rugby comes in handy. Apparently Seth left the team because people kept asking if he was on steroids?"

"Yeah. Summer after freshman year, he had one hell of a growth spurt. He went from the weedy little kid you no doubt remembered, to what he is now over the space of a couple of months."

"What about Colin and Brady?"

"Same concept. They just had their growth spurts when they were thirteen."

"Right. Because they're all huge now."

"What can I say. Inbreeding has its perks."

"Pity it didn't do much for the British royals." I retorted, miming cup handle ears.

Leah laughed and then spent the rest of the car trip interrogating me about what had happened whilst I'd been overseas. She was thorough. She took thorough to a whole new level. She drove off with a reminder not to alter the piece of flim-flammery masquerading as swimwear in any way that would make it more modest.

I walked in just as the phone finished ringing. The answering machine picked up as I took off my shoes. "Hey Jim, I'm not sure if you're going to get this, but there's an accident on the highway so your mum and I are going to wait for it to be cleared away before we head home. Don't wait up for us."

Cool. No parents.

If only I were the kind of teenager who would take advantage of a situation like that. Sighing internally, I started boiling water to make spaghetti as I took out my homework and, spreading my books all over the kitchen table, prepared to get to work. Because I'm cool that way.


	12. Chapter 12

_Sethie's got a cruuuuuuuuuuush._

_Oh come on Jake. We all know that's old news._

_Seth, I am entirely within my rights to give you crap. If you can't keep your head to yourself about holding her hands off your engine, I do not want to be anywhere near your head in a couple of months._

_Seriously, I'm with Jake on this one. If you keep thinking about Jimmy like that, Colin and I may be forced to kill you._

_Not to get all morally superior on you two, but you wouldn't deprive Jimmy of her inevitable future with me._

_Try us._

_Back on topic everyone. Since Leah isn't here, guess what I overheard Paul telling Rach._

_Dude, you just thought it. Way to kill the surprise._

_I'm saying it anyway. Sam doesn't like the whole Leah/John thing._

_He needs to move on._

_Was that you wearing the hat or not._

_No hat. I can put the hat on if you want._

_That's the last thing we want._

_Alright guys, that's it. _

_You called a meeting just so you could tell us what has been completely obvious for ages?_

_Well I had to wait until Leah wasn't here. She doesn't like it when Sam… she just doesn't like Sam._

_Understatement of the century._

_Not to mention common knowledge._

_So, Sethles, how goes your courtship of young Jimmy?_

_Call me that again, Jake, and I may be forced to eviscerate you._

_Try me._

_I so don't have the time or inclination for this…_


	13. Chapter 13

"Alle warten auf das licht. Fürchtet euch, fürchtet euch ni—"

"GAHH!" I jumped out of bed and switched off my alarm. I needed to stop using metal as my alarm tone. Rammstein first thing in the morning tends to get my adrenalin going. And scare me shitless until I realise it's my alarm. That having been said, Sonne was still one of my favourite Rammstein songs.

Well and truly awake, I started getting ready. It was 7.15 and I was being picked up by Andrew at 7.45 so that we'd be at school in time to escape the wrath of Holly.

I got dressed (if what I was wearing could really qualify as clothing) and went downstairs to have breakfast. Mom and Kevin were already in the kitchen. Their reactions as I walked in were rather humorous. Kevin snorted and then raised his eyebrows at mom. Mom just groaned and put her head in her hands.

"I'm not wearing this because I like it. Trust me." I reassured them as I made my cereal.

They still looked incredulous. "It's the car wash, remember? The fundraiser for the football team? Do you guys ever listen?"

"Honey, we listen, it's just that sometimes we don't retain. Do you need us to get you there?"

"No, I'm getting picked up."

I grabbed the newspaper and started reading the world section as I ate. I was washing the bowl when I heard a honk. Grabbing my bag, I said my goodbyes and ran out of the house before either of them thought to see who I was getting a ride with.

I was climbing into the front seat when Andrew remarked "Damn, Jimmy. You clean up well."

"What can I say." I responded as I clicked in. "When I'm not wearing padding and covered in bits of football field, I actually look like a normal person." Looking at the backseat, I noticed three girls dressed similarly to me. "Who are they?"

"The one on the left is my sister Lucy; next to her is Susan; next to her is Lisa."

"Right." There was no way in hell I was going to remember their names. I heard one of them whisper to the others 'She's not on the squad.'

"That's because I'm on the football team, dearie." I responded.

"Freshmen." Muttered Andrew, rolling his eyes.

We arrived in due course at school where Holly was overseeing the setting up. Walking over to her to show her we were in attendance, she gave me a once-over before remarking "You could pass for one of us. Apart from the hair. Take out the braid." As she turned to yell at one of the cheerleaders, she muttered "We're aiming for perky, not practical." I was putting my hair in a ponytail when she turned back around to address us, assigning us to stations where the car washing would be taking place.

About ten minutes later, just as cars were beginning to arrive, along with two people from the school paper – one to write, one to take moderately questionable photos – I saw Seth's truck arrive and park along with the other cars belonging to the students involved. Lo, Seth got out and after checking in with Holly was assigned to where I was.

"Hullo. What brings you here?"

"Holly called me saying something about the boy-girl ratio being off."

"Huh. I hadn't noticed anything was amiss."

Seth was about to reply when Holly barked his name, and then mimed the taking off of a shirt. Seth obliged. Sweet expletiving mother of god, he had the best chest I had ever seen. Perhaps the day wouldn't be a dead loss.

At five in the afternoon the car washing ended. I was riding home with Seth when he asked me if I was planning to attend the Halloween haunted house the senior class ran every year. I had to admit that I had completely forgotten.

"You forgot about Halloween?"

"I haven't celebrated it in four years. And I didn't forget. I merely neglected to remember."

"So are you coming?"

"I don't see why not. What unspeakable horror will you be?"

"Imperialism."

"Seriously?"

"God no. What would I do? Dress in a military frock coat and subjugate some natives?"

"You brought it up."

"No, me and the seniors on the football team will be wearing black, and just walking around in the dark grabbing people or breathing down their necks and other assorted creepiness."

"I must concede that to be about as clever as imperialism."

"How about you?"

I thought for a moment. "Perhaps that little girl in horror movies who sits there saying 'He's coming for you…' in that really creepy tone whilst looking past your shoulder at a blank stretch of wall."

"And how does one achieve that? Apart from the voice. You've got that part down."

"You'll just have to see that on Friday night, won't you." In all honesty, I'd probably just end up wearing a slightly tweaked version of my old school uniform. Thank you, British imperialism.

Soon after, we arrived at my house. After unclicking, I leant over and hugged Seth.

"What was that for?"

"Thanks for helping me out the last week and a half. You've been unbelievable." I kissed him on the cheek just as mom opened the front door. "See you on Monday." I said as I closed the trick door and headed inside whilst the day's inevitable rain began to fall.


	14. Chapter 14

_Thank god he's gone._

_Agreed._

_I never thought I'd have to say this about my own brother, but to quote some Zappa: hurt me, hurt me. _

_What if this is an omen of what's to come with our cradle snatching brothers._

_I'll say it again: hurt me, hurt me._

_And he hasn't even asked her out yet._

_Oh god. Remind me not to be anywhere near him when he does._

_And once more for the road: hurt me, hurt me._

_To quote some Zappa right back at you: I am sure, no way. _

_Suicide pact?_

_Oh, I don't think we need one of those just yet._

_We will. _

_Thanks Leah. You're always that ray of sunshine._

_Colin, some day you'll thank me for preparing you for the worst..._

_Please let it never come to that._


	15. Chapter 15

Friday dawned and with it the realisation that I ought to have put a little more thought into my costume. And by that I meant that I had done bugger all. This put me on the end of a rather sticky wicket due to the fact that I had football practice in the afternoon finishing at five. The Halloween festivities were to commence at half past six. Shit.

Sweaty and generally rather icky, I unlocked my bike from the racks (I planned to get my licence in the summer holidays, until then I'd pulled mom's old bike out of storage so that I could get around) and headed for home. Twenty minutes later, sweatier and generally ickier, I stowed my bike in the garage and trudged inside for a much needed shower.

Once I had regained some modicum of humanity (read: twenty minutes of shower singing later) and no longer smelt as if I had been pumping iron for an hour and a half (which, oh wait, I had) I walked to my closet and pulled out the hanger on which my school uniform resided. Cursing the fact that I was being picked up in just over half an hour, I started to tread the fine line between scary enough to be a legitimate Halloween costume and sexy enough to be worthwhile wearing.

The first thing to go was my blazer – it just didn't gel with my look. Closely following it was my school blouse – too modest and not little girlish enough. Thanking the heavens for the birthday present Anne-Sophie had given me – a white blouse with short puffy sleeves – I teamed it with the tunic of my uniform, made a foot shorter with creative safety pinning, taking it from mid calf to mid thigh. As long as I didn't need to sit down or go anywhere with high wind, I'd be fine.

Returning to the bathroom for its mirror, I spent about five minutes getting my hair into two Madeline-esque plaits. Returning to my room for makeup, I took the opportunity to see how many black school hair ribbons I had. Six, as it turned out. Marvellous. Grabbing four and my makeup, I returned to the mirror. After covering my face and neck with foundation (and by foundation, I mean talcum powder –I wanted to be pale) I got ribboning. One went around my neck à la Esther in The Orphan, one acted as a headband and the other two went on the ends of my plaits.

Finishing that, I looked at my pasty visage and thought 'how can I take this that one step further?'. Pulling out mascara, I went nuts, finished off with bright red lipstick. Surveying the finished product, I saw that I was closer to vampire-schoolgirl-hooker than scary little horror movie child, but that was a look I could rock.

Walking downstairs to await the imminent arrival of Colin and Brady, I realised that whilst I had been in the shower, mom and Kevin must have arrived home. By then I was of course starving, so I stuck a piece of bread in the toaster. As I was getting the peanut butter and jam, mom walked into the kitchen, looked at me, looked at me again to make sure he wasn't hallucinating and then yelled down the hall "Kevin, could I have a minute?"

"What's the m—oh sweet Jesus."

"That was more or less my reaction."

"It's Halloween." I weighed in. "I'm going to the school Haunted House."

"Dressed like that?" mom seemed more than slightly incredulous. Luckily, at that exact moment the doorbell rang.

"Trick or treat!" came the unison entreaty from the half-naked (and I use that term loosely, as all they were wearing was tiny gold skirts, full length red capes and Grecian helmets – I assumed they were Spartans) Colin and Brady.

"Come in, guys. Are you sure you're not going to get cold?" as we reached the kitchen, I capitalised on the wonders of the universe, saying "Look, mom. I am the embodiment of relative chastity."

Mom gave them a partially amused, partially horrified once-over before waving me out the door with the threat of "I'll be checking you for hickeys in the morning!"

I responded with "I'm covered in talcum powder. That would be vile!" as I ran out the door.

As we walked to the truck, there was a sudden gust of wind which answered the nagging question at the back of my mind regarding whether they were wearing anything under their skirts.

"Umm... guys...where did you find gold underwear with 'THIS IS SPARTA!' written on the backside?"

"We made them."

"Duhh."

Oh. Dear. Lord.

Getting into the truck was a bit of a challenge as my skirt was not only rather short, but a bubble skirt, meaning that it was more prone to not covering that which it was meant to be. Eventually, Brady told me to stop being such a prude and just get in the truck. I trusted them enough not to look. Much.

In honour of it being Halloween, someone (or a lot of someones) had put jackolanterns next to the road for about a mile and a half leading up to the school. I knew for a fact that no-one had taken it this seriously in middle school.

Walking from the carpark to the school, I noticed that every girl we passed gave Colin and Brady a double-take, generally followed by a very thorough once-over.

"You guys are such tools."

"Oh, we try."

"Although the costume idea was originally done by Max and Josh."

"Un-frigging-believable. It's the 31st of October. It's a touch chilly, in case you hadn't noticed, and you're wearing…" I searched for a term that would do justice to their garb.

"I believe the term you're looking for is 'practically nothing'." Came the response from Seth who had appeared out of nowhere, dressed in head-to-toe black, replete with balaclava.

I turned back to Colin and Brady to give them a 'see, people agree with me' look, and saw that they were channelling mild murder eyes in the general direction of Seth. I turned to see what they were looking at, and Seth had disappeared.

"Damn he's good." I remarked.

"Oh, that he is." Muttered Colin.

"That he is." Agreed Brady.

And in we went to the gymnasium, which was set out as what could only be described as Dante's Inferno for Dummies. As I went through, I saw the calibre of costuming. There were a lot of vampires, and about an equal amount of werewolves. Zombies were popular, and limbless corpses were walking around here and there. I noticed Andrew was hanging from a tree, presumably being Judas Iscariot.

Over the strains of Back's Toccata and Fugue in D minor for Pipe organ which was playing on an endless loop, I heard the occasional shriek as Seth and his friends presumably went about scaring random people. Having been forewarned, I was on the alert, and managed to turn around just as I was being snuck up on every time.

Somewhere around Tartarus, I lost Colin and Brady (and as it turns out, two mostly naked Spartans are harder to find than you'd think). This wasn't too much of an issue, as I was going to meet them outside at the end anyway, it was just more embarrassing that I had managed to lose two six and a bit feet tall mostly naked Spartans.

At the river of Acheron, seniors were throwing water balloons filled with opera blood (watered down corn syrup mixed with red dye) not wanting to get covered (it's a bitch to get out of white fabric, and I happened to like my shirt), I stood behind a corner formws by two of the standing pinboards they were using as walls to corral the underclassmen through 'hell' and tried to work out a way past them that didn't involve going back through the whole inferno.

Long story short, without moving one of the 'walls', there wasn't anything for it. If I dodged incredibly well, I might have had a hope, but the likelihood of that was close to nil. As I was about to make my run for it, I was grabbed from behind. Having been surprised quite effectively, I shrieked. I'd still been quite in sync with my surroundings, so I really should have realised that something was up.

As the adrenalin rush kicked my respirations into overdrive, I noticed that the person smelt familiar. I inhaled again. Coastal forest with a hint of dog. "Seth?"

"Hey Jimmy. I hear you managed to notice everyone else sneaking up on you?"

"As far as stealth tactics go, they weren't very good."

"They're really not. And if you're looking for a way to avoid the river Acheron, follow me." I did. Seth continued, "When we were setting up, we made sure there were gaps so that we could get around faster for optimal scaring." Lo, unto us there appeared an opening in the 'walls'. Seth stepped through and extended a hand. I thought 'why not', and took it.

A minute later, we were outside in the chilly October night, still holding hands. I couldn't help but do a bit of an internal happy dance, not only was Seth great to hang out with, he was smokin' hot. Unfortunately, being almost November and on the northern fringe of the USA, it was quite cold. And I was wearing short sleeves and a short skirt. I'd been unable to find stockings of an appropriate colour, and thus I was trying not to shiver.

Seth seemed to notice, and put his arm around my shoulders. He was warm. I leant into him. I had a reasonable idea where this was heading. "Jimmy, are you free next Saturday?" I was right.

"Umm…yeah?"

"Well, Colin and Brady said you like the Hannibal movies, and one of the cinemas in Seattle is doing a marathon of them, and I was wondering if you'd like to go with me?" he was so cute and nervous.

"Like on a date?" it was always best to clarify.

"Yeah."

"I'd love to." Hells yeah! A date and my favourite movies all rolled into one. I jumped up to give him a kiss on the cheek, and before anything else happened, Colin and Brady appeared, eyebrows raised and missing their skirts. "Guys, what happened to your skirts?" I asked, all the while thinking 'thank heavens they're wearing the gold underwear'.

"Don't ask." Shuddered Brady.

"It was too horrible." Agreed Colin.

"Damn it, now I'm really interested."

"We'll never tell." Declared Colin.

"We're going to head home and try to regain our dignity." Said Brady. "Are you able to take Jimmy home? If that's ok with you, Jim."

"Yeah, it's fine. To be honest, being in a car with you guys would be a little weird. I mean what if you got pulled over?"

They started the walk of traumatised embarrassment back to the truck. "I really want to know what happened to their pants."

"There's a tradition wherein it is the role of any cheerleader who sees anyone dressed as a Spartan to remove their skirt by any means at their disposal. I'm not sure when it started, but it is enforced ruthlessly." Seth's arm was back around my shoulder. He looked at his watch. "Leah'll be here pretty soon. She's my ride for tonight. You'll see why in just a second…"

Colin and Brady were walking back towards us, now wearing shorts which they had evidently stashed in the truck. When they came into earshot, Colin remarked "Someone took our distributor cap."

"And that's why." Said Seth. "Every year, someone goes around taking distributor caps as a prank." To Colin and Bray he asked "Do you guys need a ride? Leah's on her way."

"Yeah, bro. That would be great."

Soon after, Leah pulled up.

"Shotgun!"

"Damn." Came the response from the three boys.

As I climbed into Leah's truck I noticed her looking me over. "High-end Victorian era hooker?" she asked.

"Little girl in horror movies who sits there saying 'he's coming for you'."

"Ohhhh. Right. Sorry, they're just so similar."

"Trufax."

Leah glanced in the rearview mirror and noticed Colin and Brady's capes and denim. "Did you guys get skirted?"

"Don't talk about it."

"It was horrible."

"It was your own dumb faults for dressing as Spartans."

"We didn't know."

"That's hardly an excuse. There is never a valid reason for a straight guy to dress up as a Spartan. Seriously." Leah was using girl logic so flawless that I could see the guys were lost. Their issue.

First to be dropped off was Brady, then Colin and then myself. Bidding the Clearwaters goodnight, I went inside and immediately sent an email off to Anne-Sophie. I then changed out of my costume and pulled my filofax out of the bag I used for school. I flipped to the date of next Saturday (the 8th) and noticed that on that page I had already written in 'mom and Kevin anniversary'. Heading to the lounge where mom and Kevin were, I began the following conversation.

"Is anything happening next Saturday regarding your anniversary?"

Mom looked a bit guilty. "Well Jim, the two of us are going to be spending the weekend in Seattle. I was going to tell you that you're going to be on your own for the weekend."

"Ok, cool." Thank heavens.

"Why did you need to know?" damn she was good. May as well tell the truth.

"I've got a date." I said as I was leaving the room hoping to avoid an interrogation.

"Not so fast, missy. With whom."

"Seth. He doesn't have tattoos, do drugs or drive a motorcycle." Mom's rules were none of the above. Slightly tired, I removed my makeup, ate some leftovers, and then went to sleep. It had been a productive day.


	16. Chapter 16

_So. Does anyone have anything to report?_

_Colin and Brady got skirted._

_Leah! Do you have to tell everyone you meet?_

_It was your own fault you dressed as Spartans._

_Thankyou, Jake._

_Being skirted by you taught me a valuable lesson._

_It was meant to._

_Claire lost her first tooth._

_Nice. My mom's considering enlisting me in the army._

_Shit, Embry. Do you think it's time to tell her that you're a shape-shifter as opposed to a delinquent?_

_After all these years?_

_Point taken._

_The appropriate juncture for explaining things to my mom passed a couple of years ago. _

…_Guess who's going on a date with Jimmy!_

_Yes Seth darling, we know._

_Gosh Leah. You didn't need to use your evisceration voice._

_Your sister has an evisceration voice?_

_Yeah. It's the voice she uses when she's about to eviscerate me if I continue along that line of discussion. She's just stressed about the tribal council._

_Thanks Seth. I'm not allowed to keep my thoughts to myself?_

_You're the one who started threatening evisceration._

_It was a tacit threat._

_Why are you stressed about the tribal council, Leah?_

_On what ridiculous planet is it in any way related to you, Jake?_

_On the ridiculous planet in which I'm the Alpha, you're the Beta, and in the event of an attack in which I am incapacitated, you'll be running the show. If you're stressed, it means you're not concentrating._

_That is so unbelievably convoluted. You know for a fact that I have better focus on a bad day than you on any day. Because, if you'll care to remember, I am your elder, and I am a girl, both of which mean I am more mature than you. Now if you'll excuse me.._

_Not so fast. Out with it._

_I hate to be unnecessarily crude, but suck my dick, Jake. I'm sure Seth has worked it out by now. If you'll excuse me, I have his violent demise to plan…_

_Any ideas, Seth?_

_This is me going out on a limb, but I think she might be planning to tell him._

_Shiiiiiiit. This could end badly._

_It's just conjecture, but it makes a lot of sense. Council, tribal stories, and by the way, I turn into a giant wolf._

_Oh boy._

_Is she even allowed to?_

_Well technically, we're only supposed to tell the imprint, but things are complicated there with regard to Leah._

_Understatement much?_

_Sam is so not going to like this._

_Not in the slightest._

_I'm pretty sure Leah's already told him that she's bringing John. He might have connected the dots._

_Or he might not connect the dots until he actually sees them together, at which point we could have a scene on our hands._

_He wouldn't._

_What if he couldn't help it?_

_Then he shouldn't have screwed up my sister emotionally, should he._

_Out of curiosity, in the very unlikely even that Sam does lose it, who do you reckon would get to him first: Seth or Leah? Seth, you're not allowed to have an opinion. Quil?_

_Leah. Seth's busy getting Jimmy the hell out of harm's way._

_Embry?_

_Seth. Leah probably wouldn't attack Sam, dick to her as he was, whereas Seth has all the pent up rage of a protective younger brother._

_If I could weigh in here – _

_No opinions, remember?_

_Dick._

_As may be. Now as I was about to say, Colin?_

_Leah. Seth's busy covering Jimmy's eyes in the vain hope that she won't notice that anything's going on._

_Brady?_

_Leah. Seth's too busy dealing with the fact that Jimmy was so shocked by people turning into giant wolves that she turns into a giant wolf and starts freaking the hell out._

_Well at least that chain of events saves me needing to someday explain to my mom that I'm a wolf._

_Now do I get an opinion?_

_If you must._

_My mom._

_Sue?_

_Hear me out: she harbour one hell of a grudge against Sam, for obvious reasons. Whilst I'm busy getting Jimmy the hell out of harm's way – nice work by the way, Quil – and I'm assuming Leah's doing the same with regard to John, I have a feeling my mom would pull some kind of weapon and have at Sam._

_That does sound worryingly plausible. Who do you think would win?_

_Sue. She'd fight dirty._

_Yeah. She probably would._


	17. Chapter 17

On Sunday afternoon, as I did homework, the doorbell rang. Mom was grocery shopping and Kevin was working on the backyard, so I ran downstairs and opened the door.

"Hello Jimmy. Let's take a walk." In one fluid motion, Leah pulled me out the door and closed it behind me.

"So how did it all go on Monday?" I asked trying to get the conversational ball rolling. I couldn't help but notice that in mafia movies, any conversation beginning with 'let's take a walk' always seemed to end with the walkee being either shot and/or being fitted for concrete boots. Although not necessarily in that order.

"We'll get to that." Responded Leah. "Just wondering, have you had a bit of a fever lately?"

"No. Why on earth would you need to know that?"

"Holly called. Apparently half the squad has a raging fever. She thinks there might be some kind of bug going around, and since you share a changeroom with them she wanted me to check up on you."

"So why did this talk need to take place outside?"

"It's sunny. How many sunny days have there been since you got here."

She had a point. "So you're sure this isn't about me and Seth? You're not planning to leave me swimming with the fishes or some such?"

She laughed. "God no. I like you. You've got spunk. Just don't be afraid to take the lead a little. The boy's a gentleman to a fault."

"I'll keep that in mind. So. Monday. Is all lovely in the land of the adults?"

"All's fantastic. I'm bringing John to the next tribal council so that he can meet everyone."

"My, my. Someone's getting serious."

"When you meet the right person… you just know."

"Is it too early to call dibs on maid of honour?"

Leah swatted me. "Yes! I'm only twenty-two. This isn't the fifties."

"Tell that to my mother."

"Tell that to mine."

I was really enjoying talking to Leah. I hadn't had a decent girl-talk in over a month and this was cathartic.

"So how'd you convince Seth to go see a horror movie marathon?"

"Psychological thriller." I automatically corrected.

"Whatever. He got scared during _Shaun of the Dead_. You must be magical."

"His idea. Apparently Colin and Brady told him I like the films."

"Do you?"

"God, yes. They're fantastic."

"It's weird. He can face any kind of wildlife imaginable without a blink, but the moment the scary stuff is in a movie, he's petrified."

"Men."

"Men."

We walked down the road, waving to Quil and Josh, who seemed to be trying to outdo each other with wood chopping, past where Max, Tim, Colin and Brady were playing some creole of Ultimate Frisbee and Ultimate Fighting Championship. The sun shone, birds tweeted periodically, and there was a slight breeze blowing about. And everything smelt slightly of dogs.

"Leah, does anyone around here have pets?"

"Not really. Too much bloodthirsty wildlife. There are a few gerbils and a random cat which nobody owns which shows up once in a while, but generally nothing."

"So no dogs?"

"None. Why?"

"I keep smelling dog. Especially on Seth."

"He works as a dog walker for some of the vets around here."

"That still doesn't explain why everything smells faintly of dog… maybe I'm just hallucinating."

"Maybe."

"It's just that I've only been noticing it lately."

"Perhaps you're secretly insane."

"That's always an option." We both snorted.

On Monday, after training, I headed over to the English rooms as Seth had forewarned me that debating would be finishing late, and that extra numbers would be needed. As I tried to enter the room unobtrusively, Mr Simon, who, had I still been in the British school system, would have been referred to as the debating master, turned and exclaimed "Miss Carter. You're just in time. Have you ever debated before?"

I passed in my putting my bag on one of the desks at the back of the room. "A touch." I had a feeling I knew where this was going.

"Do you know how to do points of information?"

And I was right. "Yessir."

"Good. Take a seat over here, you know what to do."

"Sir, if I may, what's the topic?" I tended to revert to britishisms when speaking to teachers.

"That we should beware of Greeks bearing gifts."

Of course. And so I sat along with three others whom I discovered later were the equivalent of the debating team's fan club. Poor sods. A minute into the first speech, one being made by a skinny guy whom I recognised from French, when the bell rang to signify that open season for points of information had begun, I listened and waited. I didn't have to wait long. He was giving an overview of the origin of the phrase.

"…The warning to beware of Greeks bearing gifts comes from the first great Roman epic poem, the Aeneid. Aeneas tells the story of the sack of Troy, beginning with the arrival of the horse at the gates of Troy. As the leaders confer amongst themselves as to what they should do, Laocoon, a high ranking priest, ran into the midst of the crowd surrounding the horse and exhorted the Trojans to destroy it, culminating with the statement 'beware of Greeks bearing gifts'."

Thankyou universe. Before he could continue, I did as I'd been taught when asking a point of information: I simultaneously slapped the desk, stood and said "On that point, sir."

He in turn simultaneously raised his eyebrows and said "Go ahead." Clearly points of information were asked more subtly here.

I began. "As you just alleged, Laocoon said 'beware of Greeks bearing gifts'. This, one can only assume, comes as a result of your attempt to lend credence to your frankly ludicrous case by misquoting the Latin. The tag to which you pertain is, of course, _timeo Danaos et dona ferentes_, often mistranslated as beware of Greeks bearing gifts, actually meaning 'I fear the Greeks, and the gifts they carry'. It is the opinion of this house that when presenting an unrelated case, the Classics ought not to be brought in unnecessarily in the hope that the ignorance of your opposition will save you, wouldn't you agree?" I smiled sweetly and sat down.

He was silent for a moment, before spluttering a little and then going on with his speech, clearly rattled. That was the beauty of points of information. They really only existed as an opportunity to throw off the opposition. With regard to points they made negligible difference. Over the next half hour, as first a girl whom I'd never encountered before and then Seth made their cases, I asked other points, but none were handed to me on so silver a platter as the first.

At the end of practice, Mr Simon took me aside and asked if I was interested in trying for the debating team next year. I told him I was interested as long as it didn't interfere with football.

As we walked to his truck, Seth looked at me with a look of wonderment and spake thus: "I didn't know you were a debater. I was under the impression that you found it nerdy."

"True as that is, it doesn't stop me from being good at it."

"Un. Frigging. Believable. You're not a Nobel Prize laureate as well, are you?"

I grinned. "Not yet, but I'm working on it."

"Un. Frigging. Believable." He repeated.

Saturday dawned, and I awoke not much later. In a fit of mild idiocy, I had set my alarm for 0600 as opposed to 0700. That had been stupid of me. I had the house to myself as mom and Kevin had left for Seattle on Friday evening, so taking advantage of the fact that I wasn't going to be waking anyone, I brought my mp3 and speakers with me to the shower, putting on some loud music and singing along to it, something mom had banned immediately after the first time I had tried it. Apparently she wasn't a fan of Rammstein at six in the morning. Her loss.

It was apparently an hour and a half to where we were heading (I hadn't noticed what a backwater I inhabited the last time I'd been here), and the movies started at ten, so in order to be on the safe side, Seth was picking me up at 0800. This left me with an hour and a half to kill once I was showered and dressed. Eating breakfast only used up ten of the ninety. There wasn't anything worth watching on television and I couldn't be bothered going on Facebook. Just as I was getting ready to despair of finding anything to do, I happened upon a bottle of nail polish in a particularly violent shade of red.

Fifteen minutes later, having painted my nails, I gave up on staring at the ceiling and logged onto Facebook. I was updating my status (Jimmy Carter is off to a Hannibal marathon. Hells Yeah) when a chat window popped up. It was Anne-Sophie.

_Qu'est-ce qu'a passait?_

_Sais-tu l'heure?_

_1500h._

_0700h._

_Ah. Oui. Desolé. Au revoir._

And she was offline. I had grown used to her sudden and somewhat inexplicable bursts of enthusiasm.

Eventually 0800 rolled along, and the doorbell rang. I opened it, and Seth spent a moment staring at my shirt. It was a birthday present from Tom (he'd asked one of his university age brothers to mail it to him from England) depicting Anthony Hopkins looking decidedly creepy and the phrase "I must admit that I've been putting some serious thought to eating your wife."

It was a reasonably low cut, tight black top, purportedly from a tiny music store in one of the towns around Oxford which had numerous shirts of such a gist. Go figure.

"I thought I'd get in the mood."

"You look great."

Internal happy dance. What a darling.

And so we began the drive to Seattle. Upon arriving I noticed that I wasn't the only one who'd decided to 'get in the mood'. Hockey masks abounded. Nerds.

We took our seats next to a group of cheerleaders all wearing shirts upon which they'd painted 'Fuck the farm'. Clearly they'd read the books. We nodded at each other in an appreciative manner.

During the films, I noticed Seth flinching at moments of heightened gore. Of course his baptism of fire into the Hannibal movies probably wasn't helped by my whispering the creepiest phrases into his ear (starting with, of course, 'it puts the lotion in the basket'). Oh well.

Following the exemplarily brutal end of _Hannibal Rising_ (my whispering had of course peaked with me tracing an m on his forearm whilst reciting along with Gaspard 'M for Mischa'), we headed to the car park for the hour and a half long drive back to the rez.

As he drove, I couldn't help but realise that Seth looked a little shaken. I realised that all four movies at once probably hadn't been a good idea for one as uninitiated as he, but I was consoled by the fact that it had been his idea. He'd just be sleeping with a light on for a little while. I still had a little niggling bit of guilt at the back of my head, so I decided to assuage it.

"Was it really that traumatic?"

"Yes." Replied Seth. Then he laughed. "They are great movies. I just think the M for Mischa thing was a bit much."

"It's just the author's somewhat ham-fisted way of reminding us that he wasn't born evil, it was society, blah blah blah etc."

"So how many times have you watched them anyway?"

I thought for a moment. "No idea. I've seen them all at least ten times. They're all better the second and subsequent viewings because you're not distracted by the plot line and can concentrate on the filmography. I mean look at the way they did the gore. It's obviously there, but it's done tastefully because it's not the end result of the victims that's important, it's the motivation behind their evisceration." The merits of the Hannibal movies were one of my conversational strong points.

We spent the rest of the ride discussing the films (Seth asked explanation of things, I elucidated), talking about football (the above chain of events, names reversed) and arguing opinions regarding world news (he was a debater, I had a BBC news addiction – conversation was thus quite interesting). About half way through the ride, my arm started its now all too familiar twingeing which told me there was a storm on the way. There were storms so often here that in the case of the more minor ones, I didn't even notice my old injuries were auguring again.

"Seth," I asked, "what's the weather forecast for the near future?"

"Damp but clear, temperature hovering below 20. why?"

"There's a storm on the way. And it's going to be a bitch."

"How do you know?"

I pointed at my arm. "It predicts storms. There's a biggie on the way." Just as I finished speaking, the first snowflake appeared. This wasn't good. A storm was one thing, a blizzard was entirely another. "You wouldn't happen to have snow chains at the moment, would you Seth?"

"No." Seth was staring at the road with resolve.

"And you'd say it's another 45 minutes or so until we reach the rez?"

"Yeah."

"We're not going to make it there before visibility hits zero."

"No. We're not." Seth sighed. "Any suggestions?"

I was about to answer when we were almost sideswiped by a minivan going way too fast in conditions which were fast deteriorating. In the half a minute since the first snowflake had appeared, visibility was down to about 30 feet and shrinking. After cursing violently at the closeness of the other vehicle, idiot drivers etc. I suggested the only safe option. "We get off the highway, somewhere were we won't be hit, and we wait it out. It's that or risk being hit and in this weather, I don't exactly think that medical assistance is going to be forthcoming." Seth had slowed to a crawl so as to avoid hitting anything.

"Sorry about this. I generally try to avoid having my dates end with us stuck in a truck in the middle of a blizzard." He pulled over into a parking lot which had appeared off the side of the road.

"I'd be worried if you didn't."

"I'm assuming that now would be a bad time to tell you that the heaters died a couple of miles back."

"You assumed right." I glanced at my phone. No reception. "Are you getting any reception?"

"None."

"Shit." Only then did I indulge in a moment of panic, glancing around in a frenzied manner and beginning to hyperventilate.

After only a moment or two, Seth was out of his seat with his face right in front of mine, his hands holding my head in place. "Jimmy, this is not the time to indulge in some panic. We are going to be fine."

"We're stuck in a car with no heat in the middle of a blizzard with no way of contacting anyone and you're saying that we're going to be fine. If I die, Seth…"

"You are not going to die. We both have jackets, and…" he felt around in the space behind the front seat, "I have a blanket. We are going to be fine." He reiterated.

I sighed, unbuckled my seatbelt and moved across the seat to sit next to him. Mainly to conserve heat, but also because I liked him. And to be honest, he was unspeakably good looking. Seth put an arm around my shoulders and I rested my head against his (delightfully muscular) chest.

"If we're stuck here," I began, only to be cut off by Seth.

"Which we are."

I rolled my eyes. "SINCE we're stuck here," I amended, "you may as well tell me what went on when I was away. Starting with Sam and Leah. From what I remember from before I left, they were really serious. What happened there?"

Seth took a deep breath. "Where to begin…they were really serious. No-one had said anything yet, but we basically knew that it was only a matter of time before they got married and such. Then Sam disappeared for a couple of weeks, and when he came back he was different. He wouldn't talk about what happened or where he'd been, but he and Leah were working on it. Then Emily, our cousin, came to visit. Sam took one look at her and it was literally as if Leah had never existed. It almost killed her. The fact that it was Emily, who had been practically a sister to her, made it so much worse. For ages she was just functioning. She went through the motions, but I could see she was just going through them for us. She started getting her life back together once college started and she could get some distance from the rez, and now she's actually happy again, which is nice.

"That sucks."

"You have no idea."

We were silent for a while until my curiosity got the best of me. "When did everyone get so giant?"

Seth looked evasive. "I dunno. It just sort of happened to all of us, like another growth spurt. Genetics were just kicking in, I guess."

"What else did I miss? Were there any torrid affairs?"

"Were there ever. There was this thing between Jake and a girl he'd known for basically forever…"

"I'm listening."


	18. Chapter 18

_Hi guys. I know I didn't strictly need to call a meeting, but I was just checking that everyone's fine what with the blizzard._

_My mom thinks I just went to my room, so if I could be excused whatever's going on here, that would be fantastic. This is so not the way she needs to find out._

_Go for it, bro._

…

_I'm babysitting Claire, but everything's dandy, so I'm going to have to go._

_Colin?_

_All good._

_Brady?_

_Ditto._

_Leah?_

_Seth isn't here._

_And why is that so much of a worry? He's been through worse._

_It's a worry, because he's on a date with Jimmy and they haven't gotten home yet. I can't get in touch with him via mobile. They were meant to be back here about an hour ago, and I'm taking that to mean that they're stuck out in a blizzard. We know he can't freeze to death, but what if she does? What then?_

_You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you._

_It's best to be prepared._

_Alright then. Are you guys all able to go looking for them?_

_I guess, but what should we do when we find them?_

_Keep it low key. As far as we know, everything's fine. If so, we don't need Jimmy finding out the truth prematurely. If there's anything wrong, we'll work it out. Leah, you've got the main road into Seattle. Colin and Brady, you've got the scenic route and the backroads. I'll check the woods in case anything happened. Let's go._


	19. Chapter 19

"Jimmy. Wake up. You're going to want to see this."

I hadn't been aware I'd been asleep. Good lord. We hadn't even kissed and already I had technically slept with him. And there went the reputation. I straightened up – somehow I'd ended up asleep against his chest and looked out the windshield. Through the snow which was still falling heavily, I saw a shape.

"Is that seriously what I think it is?"

"It's a wolf."

"Wow. They're my favourite animal, but I've never seen one in the wild."

"They usually keep well clear of humans."

The wolf, which was grey, seemed to nod its head at us and then disappeared into the snow.

"That was so cool." I yawned. "I must say I'm impressed. You got me to sleep with you on the first date."

Seth snorted and I yawned again. "It's not that you're in any way boring, it's just I've been waking up ridiculously early for no good reason lately." I yawned and put my head back on his chest, listening to his heart beat. I'm reasonably sure I was out in seconds.


	20. Chapter 20

_Alright boys. You're seeing what I'm seeing. There's no immediate cause for alarm._

_Oh god. Did we have to see that?_

_Seriously. I think I just threw up a little._

_Go home, infantile fools… feel like sharing whatever you're trying very hard not to think, Jake?_

_I'm good._

_Like hell. You're just bursting to say something. Don't make me go delving into the dank recesses of your mind._

_Nice. It's just that now that she knows there's giant wolves roaming about, and she's no doubt formulated a few suspicions regarding why we're all giants and such, what's the likelihood she puts two and two together and gets shapeshifting wolves?_

_Bugger me. that's a thought._

_Isn't it just. Furthermore, what if she works out the wolf thing but she also takes the mention of imprinting, but her realisation that Seth turns into a wolf in his spare time and makes the logical deduction that_

_Shit. That would not turn out well._

_And, just extending the hypothetical, let's assume she has the gene. Wouldn't the shock of discovering all that be the figurative straw that broke the figurative donkey's back_

_Prompting a triggering of the gene. That would not go down well._

_And it's an eminently possible chain of events. We're going to have to work out contingencies._

_Ok. In the event of the gene being triggered, I'll take point. That means everyone's going to have to stay out of our heads until I give the say so. Especially Seth. He's going to have to keel away from her in general until she has the whole wolf thing in hand._

_Are you sure that's a good idea?_

_You seriously think that being able to hear Seth's thoughts about her wouldn't complicate things?_

_Oh. Right. I suppose so._

_If she phases, I'll get her away from civilians, and then I'll do my best to get her human again. We'll work from there. Make sure everyone's onside with this. Including Seth. He's not going to like it, but he should comply. I'll talk to him. Explain things. _

_Go for it._


	21. Chapter 21

I was woken up by the sound of the engine starting. Looking out the windshield I could see that the snow had stopped and the fog had cleared.

Sitting up, I rebuckled myself and looked over at Seth. "Just so we're clear, none of this ever took place. We got back to the rez before the storm hit. Agreed?"

Seth just looked smug. I rolled my eyes and resolved to some day control the weather.

Twenty minutes of somewhat awkward silence later we pulled into my driveway. I unbuckled and ran to the porch trying to spend as little time in the snow as was possible. Seth followed at a slightly more dignified pace.

We stood on the porch for a moment, as we both tried to think of something to say to break the awkward silence. I took the plunge. "Do you want to come inside?"

"Nahh, I'd better get home. Mom's probably getting concerned."

"Oh, ok. Well I'll see you later…" I trailed off as I pulled out my keys. The time for the whole goodnight kiss business had somewhat passed. I just wanted to get the whole debacle over with.

"Jimmy."

I lifted my head, and he kissed me. The kiss was soft but sweet and in my opinion over way too soon.

"I'll see you later." Seth said grinning widely as he walked back to his truck.

I, also grinning, shook my head and opened the door, taking off my shoes and walking into the front room where I kept my cello. I needed to think about stuff, and I did that best while jamming to some classical metal. Specifically Apocalyptica, although Within Temptation would do in a pinch. Only I wasn't the only one in the house.

"Generally, when you go on a first date, you get home the same night." Said Brady in a mighty disapproving manner. "Just putting it out there."

"How did you guys even get in here?" Colin had an equally disapproving look in his eyes.

"The spare key was hidden in the knothole of that oak in the front yard the last time you lived here as well."

That figured. "So you came here to lecture me on chastity?" An unexpected offence was generally the best defence.

"There was an early blizzard and we knew you were home on your own. The power cut out, and we wanted to check that you were ok."

That was nice of them.

"Only we managed to get to your house before you did. Explain that to us, seeing as we left home about an hour ago."

I sat down. "We got caught in the blizzard, so we pulled over and waited it out."

"Translation: you spent the night in his truck."

"Nothing happened. And there was plenty of opportunity." That kiss had opened my eyes to just how many opportunities there had been. I had to respect Seth for not taking any of them. Because following that kiss, I might just have been up for some of them.

"Well that's a relief."

"Get out, you overbearing asses. I have things to do which don't involve getting the third degree from you two." It was then that I realised that Anne-Sophie was probably more than interested in what had transpired. That was bound to be an interesting conversation.

By Monday morning, the snow had melted and the sky was clear blue for once, although I didn't have any hope it would stay that way. This was the pacific coast after all. I got out of the truck just as we pulled into the school grounds because I saw a girl wandering around, absolutely lost. That or she was on a fruity cocktail of hallucinogens, but on the offchance she was sober, it looked as if she needed some help.

"Hey there." I walked over to her. "Are you lost? You seem to be wandering about a touch helplessly."

"Oh thank god." she smiled. "I was so totally lost. Do you know where the office is?"

"I'll take you. Although I have to say that the chances of me finding you out of the whole student body… I've only been here a couple of weeks. I'm Jimmy by the way."

"Nice name. I'm Cassidi. Cassidi Lane, late of New York."

"James Carter, late of here by way of Qatar."

"Wow. Nice name."

"It is, isn't it."

We both tried to keep a straight face, but first I snorted, then she snorted, and we basically cracked up.

"Qatar?" she asked.

"Parents."

"The same parents who named you after a male president?"

"Actually, mom named me after my dad. He died before I was born."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. I never knew him. it's just less weird when people know who I'm actually named after."

"Allow me to rephrase. Your dad's name was Jimmy Carter."

"You can't change your parents."

"Don't I know it. I could still be in Manhattan, interning at the UN, misusing my UN Id to get perks around the place…" she looked off into the middle distance and sighed.

"There's some thriving natural industry around here." I said trying to put a positive spin on things. "There's oysters… and onions… and Forks calls itself the logging capital of america…"

Cassidi just looked at me, eyebrows raised.

"Who am I kidding. I've got nothing." I admitted, then asked "Was it like Gossip Girl in Manhattan?"

"For some of my school friends yes, although since I spent all my spare time interning, it was more like Mad Men but with slightly less sexual harassment."

"Sweet."

"And now I'm here."

"Buck up. At least you're not at Forks high."

We arrived at the office where Cassidi's paperwork was dispatched with the same almost soviet efficiency as mine. Also a sophomore, she was in my American history and pre-calculus classes. I was rather chuffed I was no longer the new kid. Hopefully now at least some of my novelty would fade. As I led the way to her locker, Holly appeared out of nowhere as only seemingly she could.

"Pep rally this afternoon, Jimmy. Try not to let the boys freak you out too much." She turned to Cassidi. "Hello friend of Jimmy. You wouldn't happen to be a cheerleader, would you?"

"Volleyball."

"Pity." Remarked Holly before disappearing just as swiftly as she had materialised.

"Who was that?" asked Cassidi.

"Holly. Cheerleading captain."

"So are you a cheerleader?" she asked as we reached her locker.

"As if. I'm a footballer."

"You're shitting me."

"I shit you not, Cassidi—"

"Cass."

"I shit you not, Cass. I am the kicker for the mighty Olympic peninsula wolves."

"Well that's one instance when your name would come in handy."

"Totally. In uniform, all sweaty and covered in mud, no-one can tell the difference."

We then walked onto my locker. Cass' had opened without incident, the lucky child. Waiting at my locker was Andrew.

"Prez, with James in absentia due to a virus of undisclosed origin, by the power vested in me by him over the phone, I hereby bestow upon you your letterman jacket. Wear it this afternoon at the pep rally. And who's your friend?"

"This is Cassidi. She's new. She doesn't need you hitting on her on her first day. Now scuttle along, my flying monkey. Surely you have other places to be."

He walked off and Cass headed off to find a bathroom, leaving me to fight the daily battle that was using my locker. I was just slamming it shut when Seth appeared.

"Hey Jimmy."

"I hope your mom chewed you out like nothing else when you got home. Colin and Brady were in my house, waiting to ambush me. That was not a pleasant position to be in."

"Sorry about that. If it makes you feel better I got the lecture of a lifetime about responsibility from mom and that was before Leah got started on me. Believe me when I say we will never again get stuck in a blizzard."

"All things considered, I did have fun. You're surprisingly comfortable." I said over my shoulder as I headed off to french.

"Oh come on, Jimmy. You can't drop that on me now. How am I going to concentrate all day after that?"

I walked back, grabbed his hand and pulled him along. "I guess you're just going to have to learn to think about something else for once." I could totally get used to this kind of thing.

At lunch, Cass held her own admirably with Colin and Brady as I pumped Seth for information as to what a pep rally was and what it entailed. As it turned out, it was nowhere near as bad as expected. Because I had some terrifying outcomes flying around my head.

All in all, Monday was a good day. Mom even managed to find me a cello teacher in Forks, as well as a trailer for my bike which could carry the cello. Apparently she'd contacted an old friend from high school who was now in the custom motorcycle business, they'd met up for coffee to swap stories of how difficult their kids were, then one thing had led to another ending with me being able to get myself around with a giant carbon-fibre lump of a case. All in all, a good day.

Tuesday was not. As I walked past Coach's office on my way to dump my practice gear in the cheerleader's changeroom, Coach Smith called me in.

"What's up, coach?" I asked as I sat down in the chair he indicated.

"We have a problem, Jimmy."

"Sir?" he stood up and closed the door.

"When you first started training, you were 135 and I expressed the opinion that you could benefit from bulking up a little. In the three weeks you've been training, you're down to 125, and that concerns me, especially considering how hard you've been training."

I could see where he was going, but I couldn't for the life of me work out why he was going there. "What are you saying, Coach? Am I benched for Friday?"

At that moment, Coach stood up and called Seth in as well.

"What's up, coach?" he asked.

"Clearwater, in the leadup to Friday's game, you are going to be sticking to Carter like white on rice. You will follow her everywhere, and if she's doing anything other than what I've set out here," he passed Seth a piece of paper, "you tell me. Also, you need to make sure she's eating everything on this piece of paper." He passed another piece of paper over to Seth. He then turned to me. "If you do what I've set out here, you can play on Friday. I'll be speaking with your parents, and you'll have an appointment with the guidance councillor."

Oh hell no. He so did not go there. "Coach, with all due respect, if I was one of the boys, you wouldn't be doing all this."

"You're absolutely right. If you were one of the boys, you'd be benched indefinitiely, pending outside psychiatric review."

This was not happening to me. "Coach. I do not have an eating disorder. This is ridiculous."

"I'm not going to take that risk with you, Carter. You're one of the most gifted players I've coached, and unless I'm sure you're not going to be hurting yourself, you're not going to be playing."

I was about to say something when I was cut off.

"This is not negotiable, Carter."

"Coach!"

"Prove me wrong." He said before turning back to Seth. "Like white on rice, Clearwater. Training and class are the only times you're off duty. I want you watching like a hawk, because I'm not letting Carter play unless you tell me she won't be endangering herself." He turned back to me. "I'll see you at training. Don't screw this up for yourself."

I stood up, picked up my bag and left as quickly as I could, heading for the weights room as angry tears started falling. Dropping my stuff against a wall, I went straight to one of the punching bags to work on some of the anger I currently had directed against Coach Smith. What was irritating me was the fact that I was shaking so hard I could barely get a decent punch in.

Soon enough, the white to my rice turned up to cut short my venting. With impressive agility (not to mention strength – I punch hard) he managed to wrap his hands around my fists to keep me off the punching bag. By then of course I was also shaking so hard I could barely stay upright, so at least he was keeping me on my feet. I was just so pissed off that I'd inadvertently managed to screw up football. So I did what seemed to me to be the logical thing to do and tried to extricate my hands from Seth's. My hands were starting to sting from where I'd been attacking the bag.

"Jimmy! Come on, Jimmy, look at me." I stopped struggling and focussed on his face which was right in front of mine. "Calm down. You need to calm down. Just take a deep breath."

The shaking was starting to get worse, to the extent where Seth was actually actively holding me upright, and taking a deep breath wasn't helping, which was beginning to freak me out. "Come on, Jimmy. Just calm down. Focus. Breathe in. Now breathe out. And in." It wasn't helping.

"What is wrong with me?" I managed to rattle out after much effort.

"Nothing. It's ok. It's ok." He murmured over and over as he wrapped his arms tightly around me, more or less absorbing the mysterious shaking.

Eventually, the shaking stopped, but I was too rattled (for lack of a better word) to head to my locker, so I just stood in his arms for a bit.

"How are your hands?" he eventually asked.

"They'll heal." I drew a shaky breath and examined the damage. My knuckles were lightly shredded, but I wasn't bleeding, so it wasn't an issue.

"So what had you that mad?" he asked, loosening his hold.

I sat down, pulling my knees up under my chin. Seth sat down next to me. "You know how everyone has something, that something which makes everything else make sense, that one thing that always makes you happy?"

Seth's eyes were locked on mine. He nodded.

"Well for me, that was rugby. Football is the next best thing, and the only reason I'm not spending my afternoons web chatting with my ruggers buddies, reminiscing about the good old days. I know it's not the same thing, but it's giving me enough continuity to get through this shitty transition. And now I've managed to screw it up without even doing anything wrong."

"If it's any consolation, I believe you. If you can get through this week, the heat'll probably be off. And when did you learn to punch like that? You've got some force to your tininess."

"I picked up some skills while I was away." I leaned against him. "Thanks for helping me keep my head." I stood up and then offered a hand to pull him up. "Now show me those pieces of paper Coach gave you." He obliged, I read them. Holy shit. "Holy shit! This is like twice what I'm eating at the moment. How the hell does he expect me to manage all this?"

"At least he's giving you a chance. I've seen him bench guys for no reason whatsoever. Let's get to class before he sees you in here. Come on."

Lunchtime played out rather like this:

Seth: Hey guys. You know all the rumours that were floating around about coach's daughter?

Colin: The one who went to rehab?

Brady: I thought it was a secret pregnancy.

Seth and Colin: Really, Brady? Really? A secret pregnancy?

Brady: That's what I heard.

Seth: Back on topic, I'm pretty sure the rehab stories were true.

Colin and Brady: Yes?

Seth: Coach thinks Jim might have an eating disorder.

Seth, Colin and Brady: *much hilarity*

Seth (cont.): I have to stick to her all week to make sure she's behaving herself, and she has to talk to the guidance councillor and Coach is calling her parents.

Seth, Colin and Brady: *more hilarity*

Seth (cont.): Nahh, but seriously. He's given me this massive set of instructions and guidelines and such. I am then to report to him as to whether Jimmy has been following these directives, otherwise she's benched.

Seth, Colin and Brady: *hilarity cont.*

Me: *rolls eyes and begins chowing down* Dickheads.

They were a sensitive bunch, they were. Cass, who had by some work of the heavens already been conscripted onto the varsity Volleyball team (although in all likelihood, Holly had mentioned that there was a new player at the school and things had went from there) and was thus bonding with her team, leaving me all alone to deal with the cloud of adolescent idiot surrounding me.

Yippee.


	22. Chapter 22

_Ok, guys, here's what happened today. As you can see, there is now no doubt that Jimmy not only has the gene but is incredibly close to triggering it._

_Kudos on managing to stop it, that could have been a PR nightmare._

_PR nightmare? That could have outed us. Holy shit, are you guys not grasping the gravity of the situation? She's balancing on a knifeblade, and if she falls off in public, we're beyond fucked._

_And thankyou, Leah, for once again being a little ray of sunshine in our lives._

_I'm not kidding Jake, this could be incredibly bad. As you no doubt recall, high school is a bitch, and here we have someone who only needs to be pushed before she's a giant furry tetrapod._

_Well what do you suggest? We try to trigger her in a controlled situation? How are we going to manage that? What are we going to tell her parents? How are we going to explain it to her? How the hell are we going to control the situation?_

_Look, I'm not saying it's ideal, but what if she shifts at school? What if she has an argument with her parents and that triggers it? Mental hands up if that's what triggered you? Me._

_Me._

_Me._

_Me._

_That's all well and good... you can put your mental hands down... Leah, that was aimed predominantly at you._

_I was making a point, seeing as me shifting caused my dad to have a heart attack, which he then died from. _

_Are you seriously suggesting that something like that could happen?_

_I'm merely vocalising what I deem hypothetically possible._

_You really are a cheery one, aren't you._

_I'm looking at the big picture. You saw how close she was to shifting then and there. Look me in the eye and tell me that wouldn't have ended horribly for all involved._

_You're right, but what can we do? She must have it under pretty good control if she was able to keep it together._

_Not really, Jake. I was ready to get all shredded up._

_There you go. Straight from the horse's mouth._

_Well what do you suggest, o one bestowed of such knowledge?_

_Raise your mental hands if you're busy this afternoon... Good. We have us a controlled environment. I'll see what I can cause, and you guys be ready to move in._

_I don't like where this is going._

_Oh, yeah. And Seth, you're not in this. It's for your own good. _

_You don't get to make that call, Leah._

_She doesn't. But I do. There's some shit you don't need to see. _

_Jake –_

_Don't even bother. I am not going to let you watch your sister trigger your imprint. Not going to happen._

_I kind of agree with Seth._

_Me too._

_Good. You two are going to make sure Seth stays out of the way. That way your consciences stay unburdened._

_Alright. Let's do this._


	23. Chapter 23

After practice ended, and Seth, under mandate had dropped me at home where I was dutifully doing my homework (evidently he trusted me enough to know that I actually would be doing work) Leah came over after the hour of tedium needed to get my work done.

"Jimmy!"

"Leah?"

"I hear off Sethles that you're quite good with the hand-to hand combat."

"This is true."

"Are you up for some sparring?"

"Always. Just let me get changed. And remind me to thank 'Sethles' for telling you."

"Don't tell him I called him that. He's under the impression that he's too old for it, and then he gets all grumpy."

"I'm not even going to comment... wait. Are you sure he wouldn't deem this something he ought to pass on to Coach?"

"I heard about that. And no, I asked him. He trusts you."

Tuesday was looking up.

Once I was changed, we headed over to Leah's house, where she had crashmats on the floor of the garage for her cheerleading. Without pausing to stretch, we got right into it.

Boy was she fast. And strong. I was able to hold my own merely because I had more technique. As it was, I had managed to pin Leah to the mats when she flipped out from under me and was back on her feet.

We were circling each other when I noticed that there were spots of blood on the mats.

"Who's bleeding?" I asked without dropping my guard.

"Not me." Replied Leah, also concentrating.

I broke eye contact for a moment to glance at my knuckles which were starting to sting. Lo were they bleeding. I lowered my hands. "I've got to fix this up otherwise Coach'll get all suspicious. But we should do this again."

Leah cracked her neck and invited me in to make use of their extensive first aid equipment. I accepted the offer as the supply we had at home was becoming seriously depleted as a result of my footballing antics.

We entered the kitchen to see Seth, Colin and Brady all looking (for lack of a better adjective) relieved.

"Did you girls have fun?" Seth enquired.

"Oodles." Replied Leah drily as she took out the necessary implements.

"You made her bleed?" Seth asked Leah, sounding rather concerned. What a sweetie.

"She made herself bleed." Leah threw back.

"This is true. My knuckles were already pretty much gone."

Following this, Leah motioned Colin and Brady outside, delegating the supervision of my disinfection to Seth.

"Show me your hands."

"I've got it."

"Show me your hands."

"Really, Seth, I'm fine. I have actually done this before."

"Alright. Firstly, you can't adequately do anything to your own hand because you need both hands in order to adequately get anything done. Secondly, don't screw with me, because I still need to deliver a favourable report to Coach."

"You wouldn't."

Seth cracked a smile. "You're probably right, but just in case do you really want to find out?"

"You're good." I remarked in a tone of mild disgust, showing him the damage.

He got out a bottle of iodine and proceeded to turn my hands yellow. He then stuck the split pieces of skin together with steri-strips before declaring me fixed.

"Thanks, but I really could have done that myself."

"You have to admit that I made it somewhat more pleasant."

"Yeah, I really enjoyed the bit when you had to tweeze bits of cotton wool out of my cuts. That was really super. There's a reason they invented cotton swabs."

"And it's a reason I won't soon forget."

"So from now on I can fix myself up?"

"We'll re-evaluate according to the situation."

"You're such a douche."

"Yes, but you like me anyway."

"Sad but true."

I was sitting on the kitchen bench so as to make my hands more accessible to Seth. This of course also meant that my face was more or less at the same height as his. He leaned in the remaining distance for a kiss which was notable not only for its depth, but also for the extent of skill conveyed. I was unbuttoning Seth's shirt when Leah coughed from the doorway. Thankfully. Once my head was back in the moment, I saw where that had been heading and recognised that I wasn't necessarily ready for it to go there at that time.

"Seth, you should know better. Jimmy, with me." Leah didn't look like she was to be trifled with at that moment.

I jumped off the bench, pulling my shirt down and then walking out the door with Leah.

"Before you even start, I recognise that that was a bit ahead of schedule, and I really ought to pay closer attention to where things are going." I knew I was in the wrong so I decided to pre-empt.

"That actually saves me a bit of time. I'm assuming that by now someone's told you the whole thing between Sam and me."

"Seth gave me the condensed version on the weekend."

"Think of it this way. Everything's always fine until he dumps you and then you find out you're pregnant. Now I'm in no way suggesting that Seth's going to dump you, but just remember that nothing is 100% effective. And you're young. Take your time."

"Hold up there. Pregnant?" hoooooooly shit.

"As it turns out, it was just a scare, but at the time…"

"Got it. No sex. Ever."

"That's what I like to hear."

By then we were practically at my house.

"Give them hell on Friday. We'll all be watching."

I grinned at her. "Only if coach unbenches me."

"Stay safe. And uninjured."

"You too."

Leah stuck out her tongue at me, and I returned the gesture. Then I went inside to shower. So Tuesday hadn't been a complete loss.


	24. Chapter 24

_Well that failed like a lead balloon._

_I'm well aware. That girl is a machine. Any of you would have phased pretty much immediately in a combat situation. She just got all zen._

_So now you're willing to just let nature take its course and hope for the best?_

_Listen to yourself, Jake. You cannot possibly think that's an intelligent course of action._

_Well there's nothing else we can do. At least Coach has Seth watching her. That should stop anything terrible happening until tribal council, at which point we see if our guesswork has been correct._

_I really hate all this waiting crap. It goes completely against the grain._

_Happy thoughts, Lee. You saw what Seth saw. It's a matter of time, and probably a small one at that._

_I know. The shit's seriously going to hit the fan on Saturday. I'm explaining the whole wolf thing to John. I thought I'd give you some advance warning seeing as everyone's so sure everything's going to go all pear-shaped._

_Well duhh. We'd all worked that out ages ago._

_Suck my dick, Jacob._

_With all due respect, I'll decline._

_Asshole._

_Overbearing she-wolf._

_Immature douchebag._

_Cheerleader._

_Dude. You so didn't go there. You wish you had my skillz._

_True. You win this round._

_I win every round._

_Don't push it. I could still take you in a fight._

_In your dreams._


	25. Chapter 25

In a fit of brilliance, I managed to get a concussion on Thursday, during the last five minutes of training. Which meant that I was immediately benched for Friday's game. The thing that pissed me off the most was that coach was willing to start me before I managed to have the shit knocked out of me in a tackle.

Mom and Kevin were rather unimpressed when they had to pick me up from the hospital. Mom said a lot of things, all of which sounded rather like 'I told you so'.

Regardless, we won easily on Friday. I'd been to a few games before we left, but watching in the stands was a world away from sitting at the sidelines with your team. I had a feeling I'd have even more fun if I played.

I spent a decent proportion of Saturday helping Leah build a bonfire. Apparently young men couldn't be trusted when there was potential for great columns of fire to be made. Go figure.

By sunset, we had what had to be the largest intentional fire I'd ever seen. Leah thought we could have made it bigger. I enquired as to whether she was insane. The mythical John, who had also appeared told me I'd be happier not knowing the truthful answer to that. As we made our acquaintances, Seth and the other guys appeared, carrying what looked to be the equivalent to several cows. What I found even more surprising was that the several cows all ended up eaten. It seemed that today was a day wherein my mind was going to be opened on all fronts.

Once the ingestion of the livestock had been completed, everyone settled down to listen to Old Quil tell the tribe's legends. How he was still alive and kicking, I don't know, he had to be at least eighty. Regardless, as he was telling the stories I saw… Emily? I'd only seen her once or twice, before I'd left, and when I had, I hadn't remembered her face being all scarred. Anyway, Emily was checking over and occasionally editing what must have been a transcript of the legends (oral history for the 21st century).

The plot was reasonably familiar, when I was younger and being babysat by Rachel, she would tell me the stories in order to get me to go to sleep. The only difference was that now, everything was starting to make sense in a really worrying manner. I'm not sure what started the what-ifs in my head, but suddenly I realised that if, just if, the whole shapeshifting thing was true, then all the weird stuff that had been gnawing away in the back of my mind all made sense. The fact that everyone was so huge, the significant looks I'd seen flying around, that niggling feeling that I was missing something; everything suddenly made perfect sense. The only issue was that men turning into wolves was completely impossible.

Impossibility or not, I couldn't shake the fact that that explanation was awfully convenient, and ticked pretty much every box. It was only when Old Quil mentioned Taha Aki's third wife, the spirit wife, and I saw Sam look at Emily, and Paul look at Rachel, and Jared look at… what's-her-face… no-one had told me her name, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Seth look at me – it was only then that realisation hit like a bucket of cold water. Holy fuck, the myths were true. Every neuron in my brain was screaming that it was impossible, but so help me, it just made such perfect sense. Especially the fact that Leah seemed frozen at 18 and all the guys seemed frozen in their early to mid twenties. Holy fuck.

There was nothing for me to do but sit on my realisation until I could talk to someone about it. Colin and Brady had been my friends since forever, they wouldn't bullshit me if I asked them straight out, and if the logical part of my brain was right, and everything was in my head, they wouldn't laugh at me… much.

I didn't really concentrate for the rest of the night, I was too busy working out the connotations of what I thought I'd just worked out. At the forefront, was the rather terrifying thought that Seth had formed some kind of lifelong attachment to me. That was something I was in no way ready to deal with. I mean sure, I liked him, but I'd only really known him for a couple of months. Everything before I'd left was just peripheral acquaintance.

By and by the stories ended, and everyone started packing up and heading home. Mom didn't even bother asking me if I was going with her and Kevin. She knew I'd get myself home. I was about to grab Colin and Brady when Seth asked if he could talk to me for a minute. I couldn't say no without seeming completely rude, and let's be honest, if I was just being paranoid, I was reasonably sure he'd laugh even less at me. We walked to where the woods began, just inside the trees, but close enough to the edge that the moon provided decent light.

"So, you know the stories…" Seth began when I jumped in.

"Tell me that they're all fiction. Tell me that you were not keeping that a secret from me. Look me in the eye and say that you do not turn into a giant wolf, and that you haven't formed some kind of freaky permanent connection with you."

I'd started shaking as I had in the past few weeks in moments of high stress. This time, Seth just stood there, looking at his feet.

"Tell me this is all in my head, Seth. Because I cannot deal with that kind of crap right now."

"I'm so sorry, Jimmy. I should have told you."

As if. Of course that more or less tipped me over the edge. The next thing I knew, I was a giant wolf. And so was Seth. Well that explained a lot.


	26. Chapter 26

_WHAT THE FUCK? THIS CANNOT BE FUCKING HAPPENING TO ME! WHY THE FUCK DO I HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS BULLSHIT?_

_I'm so sorry. I should have told you._

_SO WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T YOU, SETH? THIS IS KIND OF A HELL OF A LOT TO PROCESS! NOT TO MENTION THAT IT'S THE KIND OF THING YOU TELL SOMEONE __BEFORE__ THEY TURN INTO A WOLF._

_Jimmy please. Listen to me. I'm –_

_I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT SETH. AND I TAKE IT YOU'VE ALSO FORMED SOME KIND OF FREAKY LIFELONG ATTACHMENT TO ME THAT I HAD NO SAY IN WHATSOEVER. IS THAT THE ONLY REASON ANYTHING HAPPENED BETWEEN US? BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T HAVE A __CHOICE__? I CANNOT __FUCKING__ BELIEVE THIS_

_Seth, out._

_But Leah –_

_Seth, out, now._

_Jimmy, I –_

_DON'T EVEN FUCKING TRY._

…

_Ok, Jimmy. I know this is a lot to process, but you're going to have to go with it. First things first, let's cut the howling. It's a bit obvious… good. Now, this is not the way anyone wanted things to turn out, so why don't you just take this opportunity to vent whatever else was on your mind. But do it in your head. _

_That was pretty much it. So we're talking via thought?_

_Yep. Makes privacy more or less a pleasant memory. Of course it also means that when Seth says he's sorry, you know he's telling the truth._

_As may be. This is the kind of shit you tell someone. Especially when it turns out that THEY'RE ALSO GOING TO TURN INTO A WOLF!_

_In your head, remember. The most important thing is that no-one finds out about us. Except for the people we tell. And we're pretty much limited to family on that one._

_Shit. Sorry. I interrupted your telling John about all this._

_It's not too bad. I left him with Jake, who's explaining everything I didn't have time to. We did kind of think you'd shift tonight so we had contingencies organised._

_Good to know._

_Well, we did what was necessary. _

_So why are you the one who gets to talk me through all this?_

_Because I'm a girl. Everyone thought I was a freak of nature when I shifted, and it sucked, because as far as anyone knew, I was the first girl to shift, ever. So now I get to impart all my girly wisdom. _

_Well, impart._

_The first few months are going to suck. If you're anything like the rest of us, you'll be triggered every so often by something you can't control, and so don't go about wearing any clothing you're particularly attached to for the next while. Also, be ready to have half a dozen teenage boys talking inside your head. That shit is crazy, but you're going to have to live with it. Generally with the guys, they needed a couple of weeks away from school until they had things under control, but let's be honest, you've got more control over things than some of them did a year after they shifted. Who knows, you might even be able to go to school on Monday without any issues. Also, your temperature will now hover around 108, so under no circumstances should you allow your mom to take your temperature. Unless you want to tell her about the wolf thing. It's entirely your choice._

_Hell no. I'll pass on that one._

_Well in that case, we need to get you human and into your house before suspicions are raised. And then I have a boyfriend to finish talking to. I'm afraid you had a point when it comes to the whole that's one of the things you tell a person thing._

_So how do I get myself human again?_

_Basically, what I've found works is to just picture you being a human again, what it feels like and stuff, and then you're back._

_And how about clothing? Not to sound unbearably prosaic, but I do still need to get home._

_I've got it covered. Let's get you all person shaped now, shall we?_

_Here goes…_

…


	27. Chapter 27

"Holy shit. I feel like someone just set fire to all my joints." I said as Leah handed me some of the clothing she had tied around her leg.

"It'll pass. It's just your body getting used to its other abilities. Basically you need to get yourself home right about now, and I'll come get you in the morning. Just try not to freak out until then."

"You know that's easier said than done."

"I do. Just learn to live with it. I'll see you in the morning." She slipped off into the shadows, which truth be told weren't really shadows to me any more. I could see everything perfectly clearly, regardless of the fact that there were clouds blocking the moon.

I ran home, noticeably faster than I had ever been able to run before the shift, and when I reached home, I wasn't even slightly puffed. I would have to work on bluffing physical fatigue if I intended to keep playing football. I could now see where the questions of steroid use had stemmed from. I crept in through the back door and changed into my pyjamas before mom noticed I was home wearing different clothing than that which I had gone out in. Completely exhausted, I brushed my teeth and was asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

On Sunday, I woke up feeling like crap. The pain which had been localised to merely my joints had spread to everywhere else. A glance in the mirror told me that I looked like death warmed up. Sunday was the day when mom and Kevin generally slept in, so I was able to get downstairs and out of the house before they could see the state I was in. I'd been sitting outside for a few minutes, smelling nature (I'd been missing out on so much) when Leah turned up.

"Holy shit, Jimmy. You look crap."

"I feel crap."

"We all did for the first couple of days. Come on. You need to meet the pack."

"There's a pack?"

"Two of them, actually. You're in Jacob's pack. That's how you were able to hear my thoughts last night. The other pack is Sam's pack, although that's just the older guys. Sam, Paul, Jared, Josh, Max, Tim, Jez and Sean."

"So let me guess. Jake's pack is Jake, you, Seth, Quil and Embry, Colin and Brady, and now me."

"Nice work. How'd you get all of them?"

"I just listed everyone who was abnormally huge whom you hadn't already named."

"That's valid I suppose. Are you over last night's rage?"

"Not even close. It's not even him not telling me about the wolf thing. It's the whole permanent attachment bullshit I can't handle."

"Imprinting."

"Right. Imprinting. It's as if the only reason he was interested in me is because it was involuntary."

"How about the only reason he was interested in me is because he was involuntarily attracted to the part of me which resembled Emily, and then I was immediately dumped when the real deal came along."

"Ok. You win. How did you man-friend take the news?"

"Incredibly well. I guess I'm just lucky that way. Steel yourself. We're nearly there."

"I know. I can smell them."

"You have got an incredibly impressive sense of smell. That's bound to come in handy at some point."

"Good to know."

"And here we are."

We were standing in a clearing, where the other guys from Jake's pack were also standing, apparently waiting for us.

"Jimmy, nice to see you with us at last. Welcome to the pack." Jake got the conversational ball rolling.

"Might I just voice how incredibly unimpressed I am that no-one thought to give me a heads up that I was about to start turning into a giant wolf."

"We weren't allowed to. Secrecy is basically the prime directive." Said Brady.

"Killing vampires is the prime directive." Said Colin with a face so straight that I was actually inclined to believe that he was serious.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me." Was all I could say.

"'The cold ones' are vampires. Our job is to kill them if they're ever on the reservation or anywhere near it." Jake again.

"Although there are a few whom we've been allied to in the past, so as long as they aren't killing humans, we don't kill them." Quil.

"But if they're not eating humans, what are they eating? They're vampires." Me.

"Animals. They're like vampire hippies." Embry.

"This whole thing is insane. What do we even do when there aren't any vampires around?" me.

"Patrol the area, making sure there aren't any; pretend we're normal people in our spare time. You're going to have to be careful with the footballing, otherwise there'll be steroids rumours flying all around you pretty soon."

"It's not that difficult to emulate mediocrity, Jake." I pointed out.

"It's harder than you'd think." Said Seth, clearly forgetting the outcome of our last conversation.

I did what seemed like a good idea at the time, and launched myself at him, turning into a wolf while I was in the air, with the one aim of more or less ripping his head off. Seth also shifted so as to defend himself (apparently a six foot tall angry she-wolf is a formidable opponent), and all I got from his head was that he was sorry, as well as what could only be described as everlasting love for me. It was scary. I mean, come on, I was sixteen. That's a bit young for eternal devotion.

The terror was more or less immediately replaced with some righteous fury that he had neglected to share the fact that he was actually drawn to me because he turned into a wolf in his spare time. As I stared him down, growling, I noticed more minds joining the foray. A glance around showed that I was now surrounded by a bunch of giant wolves.


	28. Chapter 28

_Nice work, Jimmy. That was some impressive phasing._

_Jimmy, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't kill my brother. _

…_Fine._

_Alright. So I hear you're not telling your parents?_

_Why bring them into this. I'll tell them when it's necessary._

_Up to you. But as this little episode just demonstrated, we can't have you back at school until we know you're not going to go all fuzzy at school or the like._

_With all due respect, Jake, me shifting today was voluntary. It's easier to rend someone limb from limb when you're a giant carnivorous mammal. You've no doubt already checked my head and can see that I had it under control._

_Damn. You did. Nice work. _

_I try. So am I clear for school? Because if I say I'm sick, mom's just going to take my temperature, at which point there's no point keeping this a secret, is there?_

…_I guess so. You'll have Colin and Brady with you, so they'll be able to keep things under control. And no rending people limb from limb. Especially Seth. Because he won't fight back, and it's no fun attacking people if they aren't interested in defending._

_I'll keep that in mind._

_And no fantasising about evisceration. I can see what you think._

_Point taken._

_Leah, show her the patrol area. Find out how good that nose is._


	29. Chapter 29

On Monday, I wrestled my locker door open and a note fell out. 'I'm so sorry' it read. I shoved it into Seth's locker and took some deep breaths to get myself under control. By the time I opened my eyes, having gotten the shaking under control, Seth was standing in front of me, about to speak.

I got there first. "You really want to poke that sleeping dragin, seth? You think that would be a good idea right now?" I slammed my locker door closed and walked off, clenching my fists so hard I could hear my bones creaking.

At the end of the day, after the intense mental effort of football practice (not standing out was actually harder than it seemed), I biked home and was met by leah who took me to a pack meeting where (I'm proud to say) I managed to repress my urge to murder Seth. Well, perhaps not repress, but at least I didn't act on it. I'm pretty sure the vibe leaked out a little. He deserved it.

Tuesday morning, Seth didn't try to engage me in conversation, but come the break between second and third period, I noticed him about to speak. Again, I got there first. "Do not kick that nest of fire ants, Seth. Now is so not the time or place."

Leah took me patrolling after school. Apparently it was good for burning off excess rage and frustration. And I have to say it was. Leah was so thrilled that another girl had phased that her enthusiasm was contagious. Of course, during all the time we spent inside each other's heads I picked up on a level of concern regarding what was going on between me and Seth – namely the cold shouldering. I was in no way ready to forgive him. The least he could have done was given me a bit of a heads up. Anything.

Come Wednesday, the moment I saw Seth approaching in my peripheral vision I slammed my locker closed and walked in the opposite direction. Because whenever he was around, my rage seemed to flare up. He cornered me just before lunch (no mean feat, seeing as I had been avoiding him like the plague, and I'd been avoiding Colin and Brady as well – they were complicit, if not guilty; not to mention the fact that I had been seeking refuge with Cass and the volleyball girls) and I snapped as much as was possible without actually going wolf.

"Jimmy, can we just talk this through? This is killing me."

"Seth, have you heard the song 'A Summer In Ohio'?"

"No."

"I didn't think so. Suffice to say, YOU'RE the summer in Ohio."

I then stalked off. He'd google it, and then he'd understand my sentiment. When I caught up with Cass she had noticed that I was somewhat frazzled, because she basically asked what it was that was bugging me so much. Somewhat at a loss as to how I was supposed to explain matters, I made up some kind of weak excuse about relationship issues or something. I'm not too sure she bought it. In fact I think her motivation for us to get together to work on our performance for music (we had to get into pairs, and being the only ones who could actually read and play music, we picked each other more or less immediately; and let's be honest, there's a hell of a lot of violin-and-cello music floating around) was somewhat linked to the fact that she probably didn't buy me excuse. Thus it was more or less decided that she'd come to my house Thursday afternoon for a mad practice session. I'd have to find out from Leah what the protocol was for when your human friends come over.

Speaking of, it seemed she'd acted on her concerns regarding the state of affairs between me and Seth, because I had scarce arrived home when Leah deposited John to I suppose talk some sense into me. That was thoughtful of her.


	30. Chapter 30

_So, any progress my unfortunately besotted friend?_

_She hates me._

_You don't know that._

_She'd rather get a root canal in hell than talk to me. Her inference. Not mine._

_Oh snap._

_I know, right. _

_Well that sucks._

_Hello boys._

_Hi Leah._

_Just popping in to say that I've contained your almighty cock-up with Jimmy, and in all likelihood resolved it too. You can thank me later. In the meantime, if I know how her mind works, and I'm reasonably sure I do, you're going to need to be at home in about half an hour so that you two can resolve your issues. Well, her issues, but anyway. Just make it happen…_

_Dude. You totally have the best older sister EVER._

_Tell me about it…_


	31. Chapter 31

"Hey Jimmy. Leah wanted me to talk to you."

"I thought so. Come on." I led the way to the back yard, where I stretched out on the grass. John sat on the back porch.

"So I hear you didn't take the news too well."

"That's one hell on an understatement." All of the irritation which had been simmering just beneath the surface came pouring forth from that point. "I mean I've said it before, and I'm bound to say it again, there is just some shit you tell a person. Especially if they're pretty damn sure that said person is about to change. Did you know they had already worked out contingencies for Saturday night to deal with me shifting? Everyone knew I was about to turn into a giant wolf except me. And I do mean EVERYONE. I can understand the whole secrecy thing, because there was a slight chance that I wouldn't, but SERIOUSLY. Seth should have given me some kind of advance notice regarding at least part of it. Because now not only do I have to deal with turning into a giant wolf, I also get dumped with the fact that Seth has, and involuntarily I might add, been stuck with some kind of lifelong devotion bullshit regarding me. I'M SIXTEEN. I AM TOO YOUNG FOR THAT KIND OF CRAP. And now of course, I'm stuck with the questions of 'Was anything real between us, or was it all just the bloody imprinting bollocks?' and all in all, I'm reasonably pissed off."

"Have you ever thought it might be because they thought you'd react like this?"

"AND YOU THINK I WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE NEWS WORSE IF I'D BEEN GIVEN SOME KIND OF WARNING? ARE YOU OFF YOUR HEAD?"

"Point taken. But shouldn't you just get on with it now?"

"You're not the one who turns into a giant wolf, are you."

"You're not the one who was starting to think that the reason his girlfriend was taking it so slow was because the whole situation was about to take a twist like in 'The Crying Game'."

Oh snap. That would have sucked mightily. My point still stood, however. "So in other words, Leah turning into a giant wolf was the lesser of a whole bunch of incredibly fruity evils for you. Me, and to a lesser extent Seth, turning into giant wolves was pretty much as close to the worst possible outcome. That combined with the bloody imprinting shit made it just about as bad as things could be without one of us being a serial killer."

"At least cut the guy a break. He's been moping around ever since you chewed him up. I'd hazard a guess and say he'd upset about the way things turned out."

"Well isn't that a pity for him. I went postal for good reason! One cannot just go 'Oh and by the way, I've formed a lifelong connection with you entirely without your knowledge, sucks to be you' and just expect everything to be all hunky dory. I mean look at Leah."

I could smell the cold fury emanating from John at that point. I had a feeling he would be articulating his displeasure towards Sam at some point rather soon. That would no doubt serve to be entertaining. I'd worked out the backstory to what had happened between Sam and Leah more or less the moment anyone had said the word imprinting. That realisation hadn't helped the reception of Seth's news.

"The circumstances are different. Seth is a nice guy, and he's really cut up about everything. Just do him a favour and talk to him. Otherwise, if he's anything like I think he is, he's going to be tapping on your bedroom window tonight, probably dangling in a pretty dangerous manner until you take pity on him and let him in to talk. At which point he's actually accomplished three objectives at once, because not only are you talking to him, but he's in your bedroom, and you're in pyjamas. Teenage boys are crafty like that."

"So what you're saying is I should go over to his, let him give his side of the story, and then start expressing my overburdened feelings to him?"

"That works. If nothing else, I can't handle being anywhere near him when he's this depressed. And when he's this depressed, Leah tends to spend all her time reassuring him that you won't hate him quite this much forever, which means I start getting depressed by diffusion."

"Alright. I'll talk to him." I bounced up.

As we were walking to the Clearwater's house, John asked "Why do you start sounding really English when you're angry?"

"Language acquisition. I was surrounded by predominantly British people when I did the majority of my picking up of profanity. When I'm angry, I revert to what I first learned."

"Well it was disconcerting, I'll tell you that."

"I can't believe you actually though she was a hermaphrodite." I laughed.

"In my defence, I initially thought she was just really REALLY religious. Then I met her family and realised that couldn't be the case. So I went to plan B."

"Hermaphrodite was plan B? That's twisted."

"Imagine you were in my situation. What would you have thought?"

He had a point. "Touché. You are such a friggin saint."

"That's actually what Leah said when I didn't... well..."

"Chuck a me?"

"Exactly."

We were at that point joined by Leah because we were almost at her house. "He's inside. Thanks for doing this. Just so we're clear, I'm completely on your side – I just can't stand seeing my little brother this upset."

"I can't promise I won't end up attacking him."

"At this point, he'd just be thrilled you bothered." They walked off, leaving me to knock on the front door.

Sue answered. "Hi Jimmy."

"Hey Sue." I took a deep breath. May as well commit to it. "Would I be able to speak with Seth?"

"He's up in his room." She said, gesturing for me to come in.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment." I said to her, before yelling in the general direction of the attic (I remembered from the last time I was on the rez that Seth's room was a converted attic) "Seth, get outside. We need to talk." I then turned back to Sue. "Sorry about that. It's just that we're not on the best terms right now, and I'm still a bit new to the whole shifting thing, so it'd be safer to do this outside."

"Whatever gets him outside. I'm worried he's up there reading Sylvia Plath or something." We shuddered simultaneously just as Seth appeared. It seemed nobody had been exaggerating when they'd said that he'd be thrilled if I just stood there yelling at him, because at least I'd be near him. His face lit up the moment my death-glare hit him.

I headed out the door, knowing he'd follow. Which he did.

Once we were in the woods enough so that if I lost it and fursploded, it wouldn't be as much as an issue, I turned to Seth, crossed my arms over my chest and made it obvious that he had a hell of a lot of explaining to do.

He reached out.

"Don't touch me." I more or less hissed through gritted teeth. It seemed that I could have perspective as long as he wasn't in my line of sight.

Seth sighed, looking deflated and sat down on a fallen tree. I remained standing. I was in the kind of deathly furious mood which usually resulted in me screaming obscenities and blaspheming in French. As if he had the right to go anywhere NEAR me. Seth started talking. "I wanted to tell you. I did. I just couldn't."

I snorted. Seth continued. "There was a chance you might not phase, at which point there was no point in freaking you out for something that wasn't going to happen."

"And the imprinting? How do you justify keeping that little tidbit?"

"Are you kidding? I've seen what imprinting does to people. Namely Leah. I can see you're not a fan of the concept."

"Understatement."

"And if there was any way I could have kept you from having to find out about it, I would have. If you hadn't shifted, I would have told you about me being a wolf, but I still wouldn't have gone into the imprinting stuff, because that's my problem, not yours."

Wow. I'd never thought of it like that. That was actually really decent of him. I suppose I should have been pissed off that he would have kept something like that from me, but having been inside his head, I could see that he was willing to sacrifice a hell of a lot to keep me happy, even if it meant keeping most of his wolf self separate from me. Seeing him so raw, so honest, pretty much just shut down my self-righteous anger. I sat down next to him. "I can understand where you're coming from. I'm not thrilled by the way things turned out, but I'm willing to concede the fact that you tried your hardest to make things work perfectly. And I... I don't know. I like you, it's just..." I couldn't really articulate what I was getting at.

"You want to take this slowly. You're not ready for forever."

I nodded. He seemed to know exactly what I was thinking without my needing to think it.

It turned out that that was exactly what Seth had been waiting to hear, because the next second, I was wrapped in his arms, and he was crying quietly into my hair. Ordinarily such a chain of events would have been incredibly awkward, but I had been giving him hell, and he was no doubt just relieved it was over. And he was cutely vulnerable, so that was an added plus right there.

I was struck right then with an incredibly strong urge to call up Anne-Sophie or Cass for a bit of a squee-fest, but there was no point, seeing as I couldn't acquaint them with the whole story. There was always the option of Leah, but she was his big sister for crying out loud. As if that wouldn't be more awkward.

Damn it. I was in the mood to share. Leah it would have to be. I didn't feel comfortable around any of the other girls – the imprints. Rachel wasn't as much as a drip as Kim and Emily seemed to be, but still. As for the whole Claire and Renesmee thing... Weird.

We just sat there as it began to get dark (we were heading for the depths of winter, after all), and then it began to snow. Remembering the last time we'd been together and it had snowed, I pulled Seth to his feet and started walking toward my house. I had a feeling mom and Kevin would be somewhere on the way to freaking out about where I was, but I totally wasn't fussed.

Seth had my hand in his, with our fingers interlaced, which was about all we could do while walking. As the snow got heavier, Seth put his arm around my shoulders, as if forgetting that I was a wolf and thus more than capable of dealing with a bit of snow. Whatever. I was willing to give him a break and let him get his chivalry on.

Mom was waiting for me to get home. "Jim, why are you out without a coat? You'll freeze. The same goes for you, Seth."

"Mom, it hasn't even been that cold. Anyway, I'm just grabbing my coat before I head back to Seth's. We've got a French quiz coming up and he's in no way ready for it." It was a shot in the dark, but the excuse seemed to work. I noticed that mom definitely saw our interlaced fingers, but clearly wasn't going to bother doing anything about it. That or she was going to save it for later... that wouldn't be ideal. Whatever.

Buttoned into my now rather unnecessary coat, we headed back outside into the slowly falling snow and were scarcely out of view from the house when Seth suggested we have a race.

"Furry or people shaped."

Seth laughed for a moment. "People shaped. There's no point in phasing for a distance this short, and trust me, you don't want to be inside my head at the moment." I cringed internally. Apparently there was a hell of a lot of forever flying around inside his head, regardless of how much he tried to suppress it.

In an attempt to break the awkwardness which was starting to descend like a blanket, I started off at a run. I could feel that this was way faster than I'd even been able to run human. And as Seth shot past and I pushed harder, I realised that it was just the tip of the iceberg. I could totally get used to this whole wolf thing.

Leah was waiting for us. "I see you've resolved your issues." She remarked in a voice that screamed 'about time'.

I shrugged. "Leah, would I be able to talk to you?"

"Yeah. Come on." She led me inside.

"This is the part where you scamper off, Seth, and thank the heavens that I was nice enough to forgive you for being such an ass-hat."

He scampered. But not after an incredibly impressive kiss. Oh yeah. The boy knew what he was doing.

Leah cleared her throat in the manner of 'I can see you, and would rather you keep it to yourselves' and so I followed her to her room where we sat cross-legged on her bed.

"So what was it you wanted to discuss?"

"Might I just begin by commenting on the fact that you managed to get yourself a god among men."

"Oh, I know. How many guys do you know who would react to 'I turn into a giant wolf' with 'Sweet! So you aren't a hermaphrodite'?"

"I can't believe he went straight to hermaphrodite as a possible reason."

"Neither can I. But that's been rectified now." Leah said with a waggle of her eyebrows.

"Nooooooo! You didn't!"

"Oh yes I did. And it was awesome."

"Am I supposed to say congratulations? Because that's all that's coming to mind."

"It'll do. Have you and the Sethles… because I thought since you were so furious…"

"As if! We've been going out for a cumulative total of about a week!"

"Thank the heavens. There's some shit I don't need to deal with."

"Honestly, Leah. I am a young lady of moral fibre."

"As if, honey. I got a few glimpses of what goes on in your head when you're not planning to murder Seth."

Oh. Bugger. Awkward. Time to change the subject. "So you're aware that John's about to propose to you."

Leah looked almost glum. "I thought so, but I wasn't entirely willing to trust my intuition, seeing as the last time I thought someone was going to propose to me… well… you know how that one turned out."

"Speaking of, I've got a feeling he's going to go and express his opinions at Sam."

"What I would give to be there to see that." She said, still looking worried.

"Why do you look so apprehensive? You're going to accept, aren't you?"

"Well obviously. You think I'm going to let something as fine as that go? It's just that if we get married, I'm going to have to stop shifting, so that I can go back to aging like a normal person. If I stop shifting, it's like I'd stop being a part of the pack, and I'm telling you, being part of Jake's pack is one of the only things that kept me sane after spending close to a year having to listen to Sam's thoughts. I don't want to have to stop being a part of that."

"Have you talked to the rest of the guys yet?"

"Are you kidding? I wasn't even willing to seriously entertain the notion until you confirmed it."

"If it's any help, you know that you've already made up your mind about what you have to do. The only question is whether you tell them before or after he proposes. And think of all stuff you're gaining. Like kids. At least one of whom you're naming after me. Just saying."

"We'll negotiate that closer to the date." Leah laughed, before taking a deep breath. "I may as well tell the guys. I owe it to them to tell them as soon as possible. Come on. Let's grab Jake. He'll know where the rest of the guys are."

That had been really fun. If nothing else could be said about the whole wolf/imprinting thing, I'd gained a sister. And what an epic sister she was.

We walked over to the Black house, where Jake and Billy (and I suppose technically Rachel, but let's be honest. From what I hear, she didn't spend much time there.) lived, and we walked in without even knocking. I guess when you spend a whole lot of time in each other's heads, privacy becomes a thing of myth.

We greeted Billy, who in turn told us that Jake was out back with Renesmee (that poor child, stuck with such a ridiculous name.), so we went out back where I saw Jake sitting, talking to a twelve year old who was painting. Or at least she looked twelve. She was actually three, but apparently vampire/human hybrids age… differently.

"Jake. I need a pack meeting. I have much news which I should really impart unto everybody."

"Both packs?" Jake looked a touch worried.

"Just ours for now. I want their opinions before I start trumpeting it from the rooftops."

"Shiiit. Give me a minute, I'll assemble the troops." He went inside, leaving me and Leah with the infant/tween with the ridiculous name.

"Hey, Ren. This is Jimmy." Said Leah, giving her a hug before heading in after Jake.

"Nice name." she remarked.

"I could say the same of you."

She raised her eyebrows in a manner which was far too world-weary for someone of her age and stature. I mean the child was tiny. "So you're the new she-wolf." She remarked.

"Apparently so." There was something about her that put me on edge. Probably the traces of a scent that she seemed to carry. Not her own, which was neutral enough, but another one, painfully caustic even though there were only traces of it on her.

"That's good. Leah was starting to worry that she'd be the only one."

"She told you that?"

"Like hell. My dad reads minds."

"And that doesn't get weird from time to time?"

"Oh you have no idea. He especially dislikes it when he can hear what's in Jake's head."

Oh snap.

"So you and Seth have come to an understanding?"

"That could be said."

"He came by not too long ago to talk to Jake. Since he no longer looked to be in the depths of depression, I assumed you two had worked it out."

"Don't take this the wrong way… Renesmee."

"Ren. Seriously. I don't know what my mum was thinking."

"Nor do I. Anyway, don't take this the wrong way, but why are you so mature beyond your years? It's disconcerting."

"You try living with a bunch of vampires. My aunt Alice? Her idea of entertainment, when not giving people involuntary makeovers, is creating political scandals. Occasionally she starts wars to get rid of the odd tyrant, but she can't do that too often because it would attract notice. But the whole thing going on now with Berlusconi and all that? All her work. Or my dad. When he and mom aren't off…" she shuddered "he's playing the bloody piano. All the time. Although generally in the middle of the night, when I'm trying to sleep. And that's just the start of it. They're all a bunch of lunatics. You'd mature pretty damn fast too. And then there's the fact if I'm not concentrating any time I touch anyone, they can hear what I'm thinking."

"That sucks."

She put a hand on my arm, and inside my head, I heard her think '_you have no idea_'. Out loud, she asked "So what's this pack meeting about? Let me guess. John proposed to Leah and now she's going to stop phasing and go human?"

"Dear lord, you're good at that."

"Not so much. Alice kind of Saw the fact that he's going to propose. Want to know when?"

"I'd better not. I might let something slip, and then Leah would be terribly unimpressed."

At that point, Leah reappeared, said goodbye to Ren, and then told me to follow her. I too said goodbye, and then did. This looked to be one hell of a meeting.


	32. Chapter 32

_Ok, everyone. Leah wanted a pack meeting, and wasn't in the mood to tell me why, so I'm going to give the floor to her._

_Thanks ever so, Jake. _

_You're welcome._

_Hello? Can we keep to the point? _

_Sorry. _

_As I was about to say, I have news that I thought you should all hear at the same time. I'd also like to take this opportunity to ask you guys to keep all howling to an utter minimum. _

_Keeping to the point, remember?_

_Shut up Seth. And why are you reciting John Donne in your head?_

_He doesn't want me to eviscerate him. That's why._

_Oh snap. Anyway: I'm going to be getting married in the reasonably near future –_

_HOLY SHIT! HE ASKED YOU!_

_Not yet, but I give him a week._

_SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!_

_Guys. Minimum howling, remember? As Jimmy said. We're talking seriously imminent future. This got me thinking, and so I wanted to tell you guys that I'm going to stop shifting once we're married. Go human, so to speak._

_!_

_HOLY SHIT! _

_YOU CAN'T DO THAT!_

_MINIMUM HOWLING, REMEMBER? Thankyou._

_Leah, you can't leave. _

_That's not your call to make, Jake. I've done my time and I'm ready to move on. I've already decided. I just wanted to tell you guys._

_But you can't just –_

_I can, and I will. Now when are we going to introduce the vamps to Jimmy? She needs to know their scents so that she won't go all murder spree on the wrong bunch of undead._

_This is true. You may as well take her tonight. The sooner she gets to know who she's not meant to be killing, the better._

_Nice. You always have been good at wording things in the most delightful manner._

_What can I say? It's a gift._

_So in other words, the rest of us don't have to hang around anymore now that the news has been imparted. _

_Yeah. Whatever. Go home. Leah, you're taking Jimmy over there… Seth, you may as well go with them._

…

…

…

…

_That works. Seth?_

_Only if we're going as humans._

_Seriously, Jimmy. Why is he obviously trying to hide his thoughts? _

_We've come to an agreement. I'm willing to be near him, as long as I remain in an imprinting-free zone. Which means he has to censor his thoughts._

_It's probably a good thing. Remember when Jared first imprinted? There were some mental images there that are still scarring me for life._

_OH MY GOD! DID YOU HAVE TO THINK THAT OUT LOUD? JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE TRAUMATISED DOESN'T MEAN I NEEDED TO BE!_

_Sorry Jim._

_GET OUT OF MY BRAIN! I'M GOING TO HAVE TO DISINFECT MY HEAD NOW! Gahhh. Ick. So we're shifting back?_

…

_I think you should wait until little Sethles has gotten himself out of view. He probably can't deal with keeping his mind to himself if he gets an eyeful of naked you._

_Seriously, Leah. Not helping at all._

_Well then go and shift._

…

_Poor kid._

_Is it really that much of an issue for him? I mean I'm assuming nudity can't be that much of an issue around here._

_Honey, the boy thinks you're the hottest thing since the big bang. There's only so much control adolescent boys have over their hormones._

_That was a mild overshare._

_Just shift before I start remembering mental conversations we've had since he imprinted._

_Oh please no…_

_Bless…_


	33. Chapter 33

We ran as humans to what Leah referred to most poignantly as 'the house of the undead'. Jake had called to tell them that I was coming, so when we approached their house I could see them all standing in a line on the front lawn, waiting for us. The smell was painful. They were downwind from us, but even though I wasn't getting their scents directly from them, it was tough. It felt like my airways were closing up to protect themselves, preferring to cut off all air rather than out up with the smell of the vampires.

Seth noticed my discomfort, taking my hand as we slowed to a walk. "Don't worry. They aren't that scary." Great. So he thought I was just scared. I tried to say something about the smell, but my lungs wouldn't let me. Every neuron in my brain was screaming at me to run away while I still could, that this was in no way a good idea. I ignored it and headed forward.

And then the wind shifted. It was brutal. The smell of the vampires hit me like a siege ram. I could identify the different scent signatures, I'd worked them out while we were upwind, and now I could tell to whom each belonged. They were just so strong. I felt like my respiratory system was on fire. My body didn't know what to do, so it did what it always did when it was threatened – tried to shift. The problem was that the smell was so strong that I couldn't make the shift. I collapsed to the ground, shaking, unable to get back up, to speak, anything.

All I could feel was the pain exploding inside my head.

Seth crouched protectively over me, looking like his body wanted him to shift, but he wouldn't let it. I tried to make eye contact and tell him I was alright, but I couldn't. All I could focus on was the pain which was getting worse with each breath. One of the vampires approached, and I heard Seth growl and shift forward, as if ready to spring.

"She's in pain, Seth. I can feel it, and I'm sure you can feel it. I'm just going to make it stop." His voice was deep, and somewhat tight, as if he was, as he said, feeling the pain I was in.

Seth squeezed my hand as I felt another hand, an ice cold one, touch my shoulder. In a few seconds, I was feeling numb and disoriented, but at least I wasn't in pain any more. Almost immediately I stopped shaking, probably because my body no longer felt itself under attack. The moment I stopped, Seth pulled me into his arms.

"Are you alright, Jimmy?" he murmured.

"I think so. It was the smell. I felt like I was on fire." My heart was still beating really fast – about three times the rate it normally did.

"I know. I felt it."

"How?"

"Later." He whispered, kissing my forehead before pulling me to standing. The vampire slowly removed his hand and stepped back. "Thanks Jas." Seth said to the vampire.

"No problem." He responded slowly, as if concentrating hard on something.

With my body back under control, I was able to take in what was happening. Leah was describing the recent incident to Jake, and the other vampires were standing exactly where they had been when they'd first come into view.

One of the perks of having gone wolf was the fact that I could hear both ends of the conversation.

"Well I don't know what triggered it, Jake. The wind shifted and then she was on the ground as if she was under some kind of neural attack. We knew she had a good nose – maybe she's hypersensitive or something."

"Well shit. We're going to have to desensitise her, otherwise she's not going to be much good battling vampires."

"I'm not kidding when I said she just collapsed. I could almost feel how much pain she was in."

"What else can we do, Lee?"

"I don't like this, Jake."

"Neither do I. But it's necessary."

Leah muttered numerous incredibly interesting oaths as she snapped the phone closed and handed it to the vampire nearest her, a tiny girl with black hair.

"Everyone, this is Jimmy. She's the newest member of the pack. We'll be bringing her over to get her desensitised to your smells, as you no doubt heard over the phone. Jim, these are Alice," the tiny one, "Edward," the ginger, "Bella," the non-descript one, "Carlisle," the old (relatively) one, "Esme," the adorable one, "Rosalie," the model, "Emmett," the giant, "And Jasper." The one who seemingly had control over my sensory perception. "They're off limits. Unless of course they attack a human, in which case it's on. Have you got their scent signatures?" Leah asked.

"She had them worked out the moment she hit scent range. Including to whom each belonged." The ginger answered.

"I'm perfectly capable of speaking for myself." Great. So now one of them could read minds.

"Sweet. Now we just need to get you used to being in close proximity with them. We're done for tonight." She turned and headed back the way we came, before calling over her shoulder "Jas, it'd be great if you made yourself available. Just in case."

"For the record, Jimmy," the mind-reading ginger again, "I only answered for you because you were about to sell yourself short. Leah needed to know exactly how good your sense of smell was."

"I'll pass regardless, thanks all the same. It's not very cricket, snooping around inside the brain of some girl you've just met." I noticed stifled chuckles at that remark.

Once we were a couple of miles away, Leah stopped and turned to face us. "There's another pack meeting in twenty minutes to discuss this intriguing little turn of events. Make sure you're there. I'll give you two some time alone." She sprinted off as fast as she could go as a human. Which was pretty damn fast.

The moment she was out of sight, Seth started asking whether I was alright.

"I'm fine. Now. I was feeling kind of... fuzzy before, from when Jasper touched me, but that wore off. What was that?"

"He's able to manipulate emotions and feelings. He can sense them and then change them at will."

"That's reasonably funky. So that explains why he was in pain, but why did he say you were too."

Seth looked as though he were struggling to think of a palatable way to explain. Which more or less answered my question for me. "You're allowed to, during the course of this explanation, refer to it." I relented. He knew exactly what I was referring to as 'it'.

"It's one of the features of..." he paused.

"You can say it." I reminded him.

"...of imprinting. If the imprint is in danger, in pain, even remotely scared, the wolf who did the imprinting feels it. It's a safety mechanism, if you will, so that we're able to protect our imprints. Because if the imprint dies, essentially, so does the wolf."

"And once again, we're veering dangerously close to forever." I said, shifting the topic to something less... creepy. I knew I shouldn't be quite as against imprinting as I was, I just couldn't help it. The whole institution weirded me out.

"Sorry. But you did give me a grace period for the length of the conversation." He protested.

"And then I revoked that grace period when it started getting a bit too... eternal in nature for my liking."

Seth kissed the back of the hand he was holding in response, before starting back to the rez at a run. As it was, we somehow managed to be late.


	34. Chapter 34

_You're late._

_Sorry, Leah._

_How hard is it to stay on schedule? Honestly. You are so lucky your parents don't freak out of they don't know where you are._

_Ah but they do. As far as they know, I'm at your house, helping Seth with his atrocious French pronunciation._

_And you really think they believed that for a moment?_

_Hell no. But they didn't argue, and I'm incredibly inventive should they decide to grill me later._

_Back on topic, ladies._

_I speak for both of us when I say that we __really__ don't like your tone right now._

_You win some, you lose some, Lee. Anyway, this is just a heads up for all of you. Jimmy is off patrolling indefinitely until she can be in close proximity to vampires without going into total systems shutdown. Seth is going to be accompanying her on her desensitisation ventures, so the patrol roster is going to be shifted to cover the gaps left by them. As you're all doubtlessly experiencing right now, Jimmy has the craziest sense of smell we've come across so far. Which means no more losing a trail because it gets too weak. _

_Sweet! More evil vampire mutilation for us!_

_Totally better than video game violence._

_EIFFEL TOWER!_

_Please tell they did not just try to high-five in wolf form._

_Quil and Embry have been working on that ever since they were both wolves. They'll get there eventually._


	35. Chapter 35

The next day, Cass and I were due for some righteous performance practice at my house. Mainly because when you're the one with the cello, you get to decide where things happen.

I noticed that she was still looking curiously at me and Seth from time to time, but there wasn't anything I could do about that. She was probably trying to reconcile the fact that I had stopped hating him with a burning passion overnight, and she was in all likelihood wondering why I hadn't told her about whatever had transpired to make everything all happy again. Too bad.

After a boisterous ride home with Seth, Colin and Brady, we arrived at my house and set to working on our piece. We were meant to arrange a piece in style for which it wasn't written. Not having enough people to do Baroque Beatles, we settled on a metal cover of Smooth criminal, played on cello and violin. [**A/N: go to http : / www. abc. net. au/ tv/ schoolsspectacular/ video. htm (remove the spaces) and scroll through the videos until you get to the one labelled 'Smooth Criminal'. This is what I'm trying to describe, only with Josh's (guitar boy with girl hair) part played on cello.**] We were about an hour in when more or less the entire pack walked in.

"Can I help you guys?" I looked up and saw Seth staring at me with the look on his face he knew better than to let me see. I glanced around at the others and saw the one thing I hadn't expected. Embry looking at Cass in exactly the same way. Oh no he did not. I looked at Seth and flicked my eyes over to Embry. He glanced over and nodded almost imperceptibly. This was about to get pretty awkward.

"Is this a regular occurrence?" asked Cass, waving her bow in the direction of the half dozen boys sprawled on the sofa or floor.

"More regular than you'd think. They're like a whole bunch of older brothers."

"No shit."

We started to pack up then, mainly because we knew what we were doing, but also because it was disconcerting having a whole bunch of giant guys joking around in the background. It was by no means unworkable, but why put in the unnecessary effort. At least they were all wearing shirts. For once.

"So. Guys, this is Cassidi. She's a cool kid. Cass, these are Seth, Colin and Brady, whom you already know, and then there's Jake, the one whom you don't want to be in a cage fight with, Quil, the one you don't want near any sharp objects, and Embry, the silent one. Was there any particular reason for you all coming here, or was I just the only entertainment around?"

"We were bored." Said Jake, who was upside down on the sofa.

"Sorry to abandon you, Cass, but I need to have a word with Jake before he passes out from too much blood to the head. You can fend for yourself for a couple of minutes?"

"I'll manage." She said, packing up her violin.

I walked outside, followed by Jake, and of course Seth. I could feel him reach out for me and then withdraw his hand as if he thought better of it. Smart move. Once we were out of human earshot, I turned to Jake, arms crossed.

"Was that what I thought it was?"

"What you thought what was?"

"Don't shit me, Jake. I saw it, and Seth agrees with me. Did Embry just imprint on Cass?"

Jake took a deep breath. "Yes he did."

I needed to get myself under control lest I phase then and there, in reasonably full view of the house, so I turned towards the woods and walked towards them at a speed approximating human, muttering French obscenities all the way.

Once inside the tree cover I started attacking a fallen tree trunk, taking out my irritation on it in a non-fursplosive manner. Seth wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his head against the side of my neck. The feel of his pulse stopped my shaking. When I was relaxed enough to hang out with a human, we headed back to the house.

"I know you're upset." Murmured Seth. "We'll talk this through later. Just… focus on the upsides. You won't need to keep this a secret from her for much longer."

"I know. I just wish there was some aspect of my life which hadn't been all fucked up by imprinting."

"I'll always be here for you, Jim. Always." He squeezed my hand and went off to talk to Jake.

I walked back inside. "Sorry for ditching you, Cass. I had some stuff that I needed to sort out…" My speech slowed when I saw what was going on inside. Colin and Brady had disappeared somewhere, and Quil was with Jake, leaving Cass and Embry all alone. She seemed to be showing him how to play the violin, but the way in which she was going about it was somewhat questionable. Suffice to say, it involved a whole lot of lingering touches as she corrected his technique. Just then a car honked. "And that would be your dad. I'll see you tomorrow." She finished stowing her stuff and ran to the car, miming 'we need to talk later' as she drove off.

As soon as she was out of sight, I went inside and rounded on Embry. "It would have killed you to show a little restraint?" I asked.

All he did was hug me and say "Thank you." In a somewhat spaced out voice. He then walked outside, still in a bit of a daze. I was packing up my cello when Seth returned. "You know," he said, his breath tickling my ear, "I've never seen you actually play that since you left."

"And?" I let go of my stress and relaxed into him.

"It was incredibly sexy." His voice had dropped about an octave, and I could feel his hands making their way around my waist as he whispered "I'm really going to have to watch you play some time."

I was leaning my head back for a kiss when the rest of the guys walked back in. Their reaction was split between "Oh sweet Jesus, why?" (Brady and Colin) and "Way to go, Seth!" (Jake and Quil). I blushed furiously, having completely forgotten they were still around. Seth tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, a move which prompted Colin to mutter "Put it away."

"If you two lovebirds are quite finished," began Jake with a smirk, "you have places to be."

On the way out, I stopped by Colin and Brady, gave them each a hug and said "Sorry you guys had to see that. I can imagine it was awkward."

"Just don't let it happen again." Said Brady.

"No promises, guys." I grinned and ran to catch up with Seth.

We went to a large clearing at the foot of a cliff. Standing in the middle were Jasper and Alice. Thankfully, they were standing downwind. The smell was painful, but I could manage it. "So what's the plan?" asked Seth.

"We see how long Jimmy can last. We'll go from there."

I reached for Seth's hand just as he reached for mine. "Jimmy, when do you want me to intercede?" asked Jasper as he and Alice made their way to a position which would be upwind.

I looked up at Seth, who didn't look as if he was thrilled with the course events were taking. He met my eyes and the muscles in his jaw relaxed somewhat. "Take your cues off Seth. He'll know."

"As you wish." Replied Jasper.

"Don't go easy on me Seth." I whispered. "The sooner I'm acclimatised the easier it's going to be."

"Jimmy. You're putting me in a position where I have to make you go through pain. I… I can't do that to you."

"Seth, forget all the imprinting stuff for a moment. Right now, I need Seth, my pack brother, who is going to do what's necessary for the good of the pack."

Seth let go of my hand and went to stand behind me so that his smell wouldn't get in the way. The wind had died down, so on my nod Alice and Jasper came towards us, and as they did the smell got stronger. It still wasn't as bad as that first night. Until the wind picked up again.

Once again, my knees gave way from the shock, but this time Seth caught me and kept me upright in his arms. The contact with him was the only thing enabling me to concentrate long enough to compartmentalise the sensory madness which had so incapacitated me the day before. This helped somewhat, as now the pain was coming from specific areas as opposed to being a great mass of agony.

The more I focussed on the pain itself, the more I was able to deal with it. After a minute or so of focus I was able to talk somewhat. "Are you alright, Seth?" I forced out. I could feel his body was rigid with stress. Upon hearing me he relaxed somewhat. "I'm better now that I know you're managing." He didn't sound like he was having it any easier.

The wind died down. Seth and I both relaxed slightly and prepared for the next time the wind picked up. We didn't have to wait long. This time, I was too mentally exhausted to work on blocking the pain. After only about a second, Seth said "We're done." Immediately I felt that weird numbness which came from receptors being blocked.

"You did better than we'd expected, Jimmy. We'll see you again tomorrow." Jasper and Alice ran off in the direction of their house, leaving me to slump against Seth, exhausted.

"You were amazing." He murmured into my hair. After a moment he sighed. "I need to get you home lest your parents start suspecting things." Grabbing my hand, we set off.

I was home in a few minutes, with a promise from Seth that he'd come by as soon as he could. I didn't have long to wait. It was barely nine when I heard a tap at my window. I opened it and Seth jumped in from a nearby tree.

"Are you insane?" I hissed. "What if you'd missed the window and hit the ground and even if you hadn't injured yourself, had made a lot of noise. I don't exactly want to have to explain to my parents as to why you happened to be trying to jump into my window."

Seth put a hand over my mouth to cut short my ranting. "One of the most useful things Jake taught me was how to get into a girl's second floor bedroom."

"You've done this before?"

"First time. Still a useful skill."

I closed the window. "Thanks for being here. Right now you're just about the only part of my life which isn't being progressively more and more fucked up by the fact that I'm a wolf."

Seth lifted me up and onto the bed where I sat, leaning against his chest. "You're exhausted, Jimmy. You need to relax." As he played with my hair, I listened to his heart beating. I noticed that his and my pulses were perfectly in sync. Something I tested by first slowing and then speeding up my heart rate through breathing differently.

"Why does everyone have to imprint?" I asked quietly. "It would be so much less complicated if everyone was able to just work shit out for themselves."

"There's no point trying to change what you can't, Jimmy. You just have to learn to live with how things are."

"My god, Seth. When did you start being so wise?"

"When I met you. When I met you, everything shifted. Everything that had happened before that moment was unimportant. Even all the stuff we did together when we were younger. My life started the moment I set eyes on you. My purpose is to be whatever you need me to be. So when you need someone who's been doing this for a while to reassure you that everything's going to be alright, I'm your guy. Always and forever. I love you."

At those three words, I stiffened involuntarily. Seth was also tensed, as if he sensed that he might have taken things too far. After all my fighting against the notion of imprinting, I should have run then and there. But then I thought about it. I liked Seth, and despite whatever my ideas on the matter were, it had been ordained that we would eventually be together. Instead of struggling against it, perhaps I should just enjoy the ride.

I turned around to look at Seth. He was staring straight ahead, ready for whatever my response was. "I want to say that I love you back. I'm working towards it. I just… I'm not there yet." He looked at me, and for a moment, as I looked into his deep brown eyes, I caught a glimpse of what true happiness looks like. Seth leaned down and kissed me. In that one light kiss, he managed to convey more passion and desire and love than I had ever experienced in the past.

And I was faced with that awkward moment when one doesn't know whether or not one ought to go 'nawww' or 'gahh'. And well awkward it was.


	36. Chapter 36

_So you imprinted. Nice work, bro._

_Dude. How do you manage not being with her? This is killing me._

_It gets better with time. _

_It does. I mean look at Seth. A couple of days and Jimmy no longer hates him, because you can't fight what the higher-ups ordain._

_Speaking of, you should probably talk to her about her helping to organise a few chance meetings and the like. Just to give you a nice foundation to build on._

_So much for the legends saying it was rare. We're looking at around 75% in this pack, and the only reason Sam's pack haven't gone above 50% is because none of them meet any girls._

_Stop freaking out, Colin. It'll be fine. _

_How can I not freak out? I can't in good conscience date girls because there's a pretty large chance that I'm going to imprint on someone else and end up doing what happened to Leah._

_Somebody mentioned me?_

_Embry imprinted._

_I heard. Nice work, kid. Who's the bird?_

_Leah, that was really creepy. Please never sound like a film noir detective ever again._

_Sorry. The question stands._

_Jimmy's friend Cassidi. It really was like the earth moving. It… she… I... wow._

_Well shit. He's not going to be coherent for a while._

_No he is not. I'm actually about to take him home. He is in no state to deal with external threats at the moment._

_Amen._

_Quick question before I head off: has anyone seen Sethles? Mom raised the question and I honestly didn't know._

_Think for a moment, Lee. Who else isn't here?_

_Ji—Nooooo. Surely not. _

_Surely yes._

_I'll be damned. The kid works fast._

_And how._

_Ugh. We'll be going now…_

_Agreed. There's some shit we don't need to hear…_

_But seriously. This kind of speed is legendary. Seth's kind of pimpin'._

_That he is. In the meantime, all this talk of Seth's potential conquests is making poor besotted Embry miserable. Until tomorrow when we'll ascertain whether or not these conquests were actual?_

_Until then, good captain._


	37. Chapter 37

"You're so beautiful." Seth whispered, kissing his way down the side of my neck.

I did my best to concentrate on not getting carried away. After all I did inhabit the same mindspace as a whole lot of other people. The least I could do is be considerate. "You're just saying that because you're hardwired to." I whispered back, pulling away long enough to divest him of his shirt, before allowing myself to be pulled back towards him for another kiss.

Suddenly Seth stood up, lifting me with him. In one swift move he had removed the giant old shirt I was wearing as a nightgown, leaving me in just a bra and shorts, before laying me out on my bed. He stood, gazing at me. "I'm saying it," he said as he poised himself over me, "because it's true." He was kissing his way down my chest and stomach when I put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me, with a look in his eyes which I had never seen before, but which I had a feeling I'd be seeing a hell of a lot of in the future.

"We need to stop before this goes too far."

Seth sighed and kissed me once more, with a not insignificant amount of tongue, before repositioning me so that I was once again sitting on the bed, leaning against his chest. "I want you so much." He said, his voice just a rumble in his chest.

I entwined my fingers in his. "I know. We just need to figure out how this is going to work. There's never been a situation like ours, and until we know what the hell is going on, we can't risk it. What if I end up pregnant? Nobody knows what could happen because this has never happened before."

"If Leah's any example to go by, you won't end up pregnant. And even if you did, you know I'll always be here for you."

"I know. I'm just not willing to risk it. Maybe later, but not right now."

Seth was rubbing the back of my neck in a way which made me feel like melting. "At least you're relaxed now." He remarked.

Pretty soon, the exhaustion of the day caught up with me. I woke up the next morning when my alarm went off. Sitting up, I noticed that somehow I was wearing Seth's shirt, and he was nowhere to be seen. Smiling to myself, I hopped into the shower so that I could start getting ready for school.

As usual, Colin and Brady picked me up in the morning. "Why are you smiling like that?" asked Brady when I appeared.

"Smiling like what?" I asked. I was making an effort to have a neutral facial expression.

"Smiling like you got some last night. Please tell me you didn't get some last night." Answered Colin.

"No. For your information I did not 'get some' last night as you so charmingly put it."

"Uh-huh." He didn't sound like he completely believed me. "But I'm assuming you got pretty darn close?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Not that it's of any interest to you, but no, we did not. He didn't even get my bra off."

"Oh, god! Overshare!" they both protested.

"You asked." I responded, crossing my arms. I had a feeling there wouldn't be any more questions on that topic for a while.

"We didn't actually want to know! We were just judging you."

"Well clearly, next time you'll know better."

Brady shuddered. "Not necessary."

When we arrived at school, I headed for my locker, where Seth was waiting. Before I'd even had time to stow my books, he leaned in for a kiss. We were, however, interrupted by Andrew. "Way to go, Seth." Turning to me, he asked "You pumped for tonight's game?"

"Yes. Not only that, but I'm also all not concussed."

"Sweet. I'll see you on the field." He looked back at Seth. "Seriously, man. Nice work."

As he walked off, I turned to Seth. "Does making out with me suddenly give you extra street cred or something?"

"You are a smokin' hot babe after all."

I rolled my eyes and focussed my attention on getting my locker to open.

My first class for the day happened to be with Cass. We were watching a movie, which meant we were able to pass notes to each other with impunity.

_You didn't tell me about how awesome the guys are._

_Why do I get the feeling you are in fact referring to the awesomeness of one guy in particular?_

_True. He is kind of smokin' hot. I mean do you ever get the urge to rip someone's shirt off the moment you see them?_

_Thanks for that image. I'll stick with Seth, thanks._

_Whatever shaves your monkey._

_Gahh! Where on earth did you pick up that idiom?_

_It's a real peach isn't it. _

_I'm assuming it's some kind of euphemism, and I don't want to even start thinking what for._

_What can I say. But seriously, do they spend a lot of time around your place? _

_Whilst I feel really weird doing this, Em had asked if I'd talk to you for him, so what say you 'come over to my place' on the weekend and I'll leave you two alone. I've got some stuff that needs doing, but I'm sure he'd be more than thrilled to show you around._

_You're the best, Jimmy. Even if you are kind of pimping people out._

_Please never refer to what I'm doing as 'pimping' ever again. It conjures up images of Fredo from The Godfather. And we all know what happened to him._

_This is true. Point taken. On a slightly different note, why are you smiling like that?_

_I'm not._

_Yes you are. You have the self-satisfied half-smile of those who have something to be smug about. You didn't…_

_No! Why is everybody jumping to that conclusion?_

_Because it looks like you got yourself some sweet, sweet lovin'._

_Interesting turn of phrase. _

_It was the only one which aptly described your demeanour. So what happened?_

_Nothing much. He didn't even get to second. _**[A/N]**

_There was no under the shirt action and you're still smiling like that? Damn he must be a good kisser._

_That he most definitely is. And technically there was under the shirt. Just no under the bra._

_Was there over the bra?_

_Nope. I do however get the feeling that he's saving that for later._

_You do realise that I'm living my nonexistent love life vicariously through yours._

_OK, what was that snort meant to mean._

_Nothing. _

_Somehow, I don't believe you._

_I maintain that there was no meaning behind my snort. _

_Whatever._

The bell rang to signal the end of class.

"Seriously Cass, I know for a fact that Embry would love to show you around."

"I think I'll take you up on that." She sighed. "God, he's sexy."

I rolled my eyes and headed for my locker.

The rest of the day was unremarkable. I went to class, high fived the other footballers in the hallways, raised my eyebrows at the number of approving nods directed at Seth.

The whole pack turned up to watch the game. Leah had even brought John. I couldn't help but notice that Embry and Cass had somehow found each other and were having an animated discussion about something. Damn, that boy moved fast.

Come Saturday, mom and Kevin headed off for Seattle. This left me free to hang out with a couple of vampires, thus getting out of the way of Embry and Cass. There was no wind whatsoever, which meant that Seth and I were inside their house, tolerating the ambient scents, which were circulated around the moment any of them moved. On the plus side, I was able to hold my own. Clearly the whole acclimatising thing wasn't going to be that lengthy a process.

I couldn't help but feel for Seth, who I knew was having a hard time allowing me to go through discomfort. Jasper and I were playing chess while Seth talked to Edward in another room. I was too busy being massacred on a chess board to have the effort necessary to listen in. And I was a reasonably good chess player. Although putting it into perspective, I suppose Jasper had had a century and a half to build his skills. It was still disheartening.

After an hour though, wherein Seth had, seemingly sensing my distress, come to stand behind me, playing with my hair, and generally just giving off the vibe that he wanted nothing more than to take me away somewhere where I would never encounter any vampires ever, he called a stop to things. The moment I didn't have to deal with the vampire smell, I noticed that I had a raging headache and my eyes were starting to tear up.

Once outside, in the fresh(er) air, I noticed just how tense I was. Then Seth had an idea.

"Do you want to go cliff diving, Jimmy?"

"It's late November."

"We're wolves. We'll manage."

He had a point there. "Why not. I was always too young the last time I was here." By not heading straight back, we avoided the potential awkwardness of bumping into Embry as he worked on getting Cass used to him so that when the moment came for the 'btw, I'm a giant wolf in my spare time' conversation, she'd take it slightly better than I did. Because from what I'd picked up from the guys' heads, I was now the yardstick for how you DIDN'T want her to react.

The cliff, when we reached it, looked to be about fifty metres high. This was going to be awesome. Checking that the beach was clear – the last thing anyone needed was some tourist calling in a double suicide – Seth took my hand and we jumped.

The interesting thing about falling is that it doesn't really feel as if you're falling. If noth for the fact that you can see yourself being pulled downwards, it's like you're flying. A moment before we hit the water, I let go of Seth's hand and streamlined myself. Fifty metres is more than enough time to hit terminal velocity, and shapeshifter or not, hitting the water at the wrong angle would break a bone pretty damn immediately. The water was cold. Then again, what does one expect of the northern US in late November. Finding my bearings, I kicked for the surface, breaking a moment before Seth did.

"That was awesome!" I called over to him, pushing my hair off my face before kicking for the shore. Once we hit the sand I took off my shirt and squeezed the water out of it. I noticed Seth wearing the conflicted look of one who wants to look, but feels they oughtn't. I rolled my eyes. "Come on, Seth. You've seen me in a bikini, haven't you?"

"I'm trying to be all 'respectful' and 'evolved'," he said, signing inverted commas, "and I'm doing my best to take everything slowly, but you're really not making things easy for me."

"Inverted commas? Really?"

Seth looked me in the eyes. I was starting to detect that there were two Seths: sweet, funny, eighteen-year-old boyfriend Seth, who was a regular (enough) teenager, and generally not at all heavy company; and then there was warrior Seth, who had more or less skipped youth due to circumstances beyond his control, who had killed people (vampires anyway) and was more than ready to do it again. Right now, it was Warrior Seth talking. "Jimmy, I'm an unaging shape shifter fulfilling my ages old birthright to protect my tribe from its greatest enemies. I don't have the time or inclination for political correctness." Well damn. Warrior Seth was kind of crazy sexy.

As we ran back to the rez, I asked Seth's opinion on something which had been bugging me for a while. "Do you reckon I should cut my hair?"

"Why?" he had the baffled look of someone who was hardwired to think that everything about me was perfect. Which, oh wait, he was.

"Have you any idea how difficult it is to get all the leaves and twigs out of it at the moment? It's pretty damn hard. That and the fact that I think I look too little girlish for the guys to take me seriously."

"I personally quite like your hair as it is. It's terribly fun to play with."

I fixed Seth with a withering glare. I arrived home to a message on the answering machine telling me that mom would be home late. Seth, bless his heart, went in for a kiss. I put a hand in the way. "Not so fast. I need to get the salt out of my hair before it dries solid." Seth raised an eyebrow. I could see where he was going. "Not a chance. There is no way I'm making it that easy for you." He looked disappointed. "Anyway. I'm sure you need to get changed as well. Just pretend you're all 'evolved' and 'respectful' for half an hour."

Seth smiled a worryingly crafty smile. "Deal." Just like that he was gone. Trusting entirely that he would be half an hour exactly, I hied myself to the shower. On the way, I picked up dry clothing. And I may or may not have added to said clothing the skankiest bra I owned – red with black lace. What can I say. The mood was with me.

**A/N:** It came to my attention recently that there are two versions of the 'base' system. They are as follows:

Version 1:

First base – making out.

Second base – under the bra.

Third base – below the belt.

Home run – I'll let you use your imagination for that one.

This is contrasted with version 2:

First base – anything above the belt.

Second base – hands below the belt.

Third base – head below the belt.

Home run as above.

I personally subscribe to version 1, and will be using it in my writing. The proponents of version 2 advocate it as they believe that the difference between hands and head below the belt is too great to merit only one base. I advocate version 1 using the argument of social acceptance. It is, for example, reasonably accepted that v1 first base is acceptable (even if not necessarily entirely classy) at parties with a complete stranger. V2 first base on the other hand is not socially acceptable in the above situation. Likewise, v1 first base is (whilst not entirely tasteful) nonetheless within the acceptable bounds of a PDA. V2 first base is not.

So, for the sake of argument, when Jimmy says that Seth didn't get to second, it means that he didn't get under her bra. Not that he didn't get into her pants.


	38. Chapter 38

**I'm taking a break from my general system of transcribing pack meetings to transcribe instead a conversation between Leah and John which I have no doubt whatsoever will be far more entertaining to all of you than any pack meeting I contrive.**

**Meanwhile, in Seattle…**

"Can I take off the blindfold yet? It's starting to irritate my nose."

"Hang on, Lee. Have a little patience."

"I'd glare at you, only I'm wearing a blindfold so there's no point."

"Exactly. Can't you see I've thought this through?"

"I'll give you that. You have thought ahead."

"Thankyou. Now just a few more steps… And stop. I'm about to take off the blindfold, so don't incapacitate me."

"That was one time. You shouldn't have surprised me."

"Exactly. I never want that to happen again… Take a look around."

"We're in a predominantly empty room."

"We're in my new apartment. I've left the intern enclave of Miranda's house and struck out on my own. Because the time I've spent with you has got me thinking about the future. And since, as it turns out, you're not a hermaphrodite, I have no issues whatsoever with what I'm about to ask. Leah Clearwater, you are the most amazing girl I have ever met. You're smart, you're funny, and you're a the best fighter I've ever met. Would you do me the extreme honour of marrying me? Because there's no-one else I'd rather spend the rest of my life with thank you."

"Yes! Are you kidding? Of course!"

"Here's your key. Now that you're engaged you can't keep lying to your mom about where you are when you're with me."

"Thanks, but I can't move in permanently until after the wedding. That's when I'm going to stop shifting so that I can go back to aging normally and all that. Until then I need to be on the rez for at least the majority of my time so that I can stay with the Pack. Anyway, Seth and Jimmy both still need me around."

"Is there nothing I can do to convince you otherwise?"

"Nothing. I mean you can feel free to try, but I'm warning you now that you won't get anywhere… so you want to try regardless. I'm fine with that."

**Oh snap! Leah's all engaged and shit. I told you this would be more entertaining than another wolfpack convo.**


	39. Chapter 39

**Before we start, let it be known that I am aware that New Zealand is not home to any predatory mammals. Thus I am going to pretend that Thylacines (Tasmanian tiger) toddled over there from Australia at some point when gondwanaland was doing its thing.**

Half an hour later, Seth was back. I assume this, because it took me a grand total of 32 minutes to get changed etc (my hair had somehow picked up a whole lot of sea grass which I hadn't noticed, and it had taken ages to get it all out – another argument for a haircut) and when I finally emerged from the bathroom and returned to my room, I noticed Seth looking at all the stuff I had around the place. Specifically the classical music wall. I was wallpapering using sheets of my favourite piece (the Allegretto from Beethoven's Seventh Symphony) so that eventually my wall would have the full orchestration of the piece for me to gaze at and play in my head. Because I was a cool kid like that.

"What's that?" he indicated the wall.

"Possibly the best piece of music ever written. You can feel how Beethoven felt just by listening to it. His frustration with his increasing deafness, his fear of what this will mean for his composing, it's… you can't really describe it."

"You do realise that apart from recognising the name, I have no idea who Beethoven was." He had a point.

"You asked."

"You still haven't actually told me what it is."

"The second movement of his seventh symphony. The Allegretto."

"I'm going to smile and nod and pretend I know what that means."

"That works. I am so not up for teaching a crash course in classical music." Seth had walked over to where I was standing and was circling me in an almost predatory manner. That was when I looked down at what I was wearing and realised that the white shirt I was wearing had gone transparent from my wet hair, affording Seth a decent view of what was a reasonably racy piece of underclothing. "And even if I did, I sense I've lost your attention."

Seth lifted me up to his height (at five foot ten, I still fell well short of his six foot seven) and pinned me against the music wall for a kiss. Things went from there.

I was on my bed, with Seth making use of the fact that he could give me a hickey and it would heal more or less immediately. Oh the unexpected perks of being a werewolf.

"I hope you realise" said Seth "that the only reason your bra is still on you is because I didn't even know you owned anything that naughty."

I wasn't in any state to respond. No, he still hadn't gone for second base, but that wasn't to say that he wasn't still unbelievably effective over the bra.

It was then that there was a knock on my bedroom door. We both froze. "Jimmy, Seth, I want to talk to both of you. Make yourselves decent and I expect to see you downstairs incredibly soon." He was using a voice that said 'I know what you're up to, Dr. Willis, and I don't like it one bit.'

We looked at each other, horrified. This was not going to end well. Seth, in his infinite wisdom, had seen fit not to come in a shirt. Luckily there was the one he'd left me in two nights before. I threw on a black shirt (all the better to not become transparent from my hair), gritted my teeth, and headed out the door.

Kevin was standing in the kitchen. "Sit." He said. We sat. "So, Jimmy," he began, "When were you planning to tell your mother that you turn into a giant wolf?"

Seth and I both stared at Kevin, utterly gobsmacked. "How…" I wasn't even able to articulate a full question.

"You lot aren't the only tribe to develop ways of dealing with vampires." Was all he said. "How I know isn't that important. The question is when you were planning to tell her."

"Never if it were possible. Does she really strike you as the type to accept happily the fact that her daughter is a shapeshifter?"

"That's your choice, and I'm going to leave it as such." He looked us over. "I'm not going to tell your mothers what you two were doing, since I know you're teenagers and the hormones are flying around madly and you've got the part of your brain that imprinted making you subconsciously want to propagate the species."

I choked slightly. "It what?"

"Pretty much." Muttered Seth grimly.

"But that doesn't mean you can do what you like with impunity. You need to be using protection, and you, young man," he was addressing Seth, "need to know that if you get her pregnant I will personally shred you into confetti. Also, feel free to do whatever you have to do, you're young after all, just remember that there are other people around you. And my hearing is just as good as yours."

Mindfuck. Also, extreme awkward. Clearly Kevin had heard what went on on Thursday. It looked like I'd have to find out more about his schedule. Because mom, only having human hearing, wouldn't be any the wiser as long as we kept ourselves reasonably quiet.

"So how did you know I was a wolf?" I asked when the ramifications of our talk had sunk in.

"My tribe, and a couple of other tribes around Aotearoa have a few in each generation who are able to shift form into giant thylacines."

"Those being?"

"The southern hemisphere's answer to wolves. I'm assuming you think you're the only shapeshifters in the world. You're not. You're just one small part of a much bigger picture. I had figured out there was shapeshifter blood just from the fact that everyone is so giant. As for you specifically, I could smell vampire on you. Knowing that Seth had imprinted on you, the only reason you'd come into contact with vampires would be if he allowed it, and he would only allow it if you were able to defend yourself. Which meant you had to be a wolf."

"We have a treaty with the vampires since they don't drink human blood. As long as they don't harm humans, we leave them alone." Seth did the clever thing and made sure no-one would be accidentally breaking the treaty.

Kevin nodded.

I then realised the logical next step. "We need to tell the pack about this. They deserve to know, and this is kind of big."

"Be my guest, Jim. Just remember, my hearing is just as good as yours." I nodded my assent and hightailed it out of the house. I turned to Seth. "Where to now?"

"We tell Jake."

We set off for Jake's house at a run. We walked inside to find Rachel in the backyard and Jake nowhere to be found.

"What's got you two so freaked out?" she asked as she planted. "You're not pregnant, are you?"

"What? Where did that even come from?"

"Two teenagers in a relationship are seeking out someone in authority with panicked looks. What was I meant to think?"

"I'm not pregnant. Do you know where Jake is?"

"Not really. You might see if he's talking to Leah. Otherwise he's probably with the vamps."

We set off for Seth's house. He wasn't there. Nor, as it would happen, was Leah. So at a run, we made for the Cullens'. When we arrived, Jasper was waiting for us.

"We need to see Jake." I said.

As I spoke, Jake came running out of the house. "I heard you guys coming. What's the issue?"

"Kevin knows we're wolves. Apparently this whole shapeshifting thing is a lot more common than we thought."

"You're saying that he just went 'Oh and by the way, I know you're a wolf, and I'm a shapeshifter in my spare time'?"

"Pretty much. He's not going to tell mom, so we don't need to worry about secrecy. He made it abundantly clear that he knew we were wolves, and he also seemed to know that Seth had imprinted on me."

"Fuck." Jacob ran his hands through his hair. "I'm going to talk to the elders and see what they think. See if you can get in touch with Leah. She really ought to be on hand."

We all went our separate ways, Seth and I to see if Leah had returned home. She hadn't. So we did what was necessary – called her cell.

"This had better be good." Clearly we had interrupted her.

"You need to get back here soonish. Things have come to light which are" I took the phone from him.

"We're talking earth shattering. Kevin knows we're wolves. Apparently he was a shifter at some point. Jake's talking to the elders now."

"Hey Jimmy. For a moment I thought you were pregnant or something."

"WHY DOES EVERYBODY KEEP THINKING THAT? I AM SO NOT PREGNANT!"

"Sorry, Jim. I'll be there soon. If you could assemble the guys, I've got something to share with the pack."

"He proposed, didn't he."

"Damn you're good. Keep it quiet for now, ok."

She hung up.

"Well that was a bad time to call her." Remarked Seth.

"That it most definitely was." I agreed.

"I totally want to be there when she tells Sam." He had an evil grin on his face.

It wasn't long before we heard Jake's howl summoning us to a pack meeting.


	40. Chapter 40

_So. Kevin, being a shapeshifter himself, worked out that we're wolves. The elders say to just leave everything as it is for the moment. This is, if nothing else, an indication that we're not the only ones out there. Any questions, comments, editorialisations?_

_You're sure?_

_He made it plentifully certain that he knew me and Seth were wolves, he intimated that he was a shifter, and he knew that Seth had imprinted on me._

_Damn. He's a bit of a ninja._

_Leah, nice to hear from you. What's your ETA?_

_About two minutes. I've got something to say._

_Is it anything to do with the fact that Jimmy is focussing hard on picturing some music in her head, and Seth is reciting John Donne again?_

_Yes it is._

_Well then I'm listening._

_John proposed._

_So when are you leaving us?_

_Not for a good while. I'm not even going to contemplate anything until I'm finished my degree._

_So we've still got you for a while. Sweet._

_Awww. You're going to miss me. Well. That was relatively painless. Goodbye all…_

…

_Where did Jimmy go?_

_Calm the fuck down, Seth. She's probably talking to Leah about something. She'll be fine._

_Hey Seth,_

_Yeah?_

_Why are you still reciting poetry in your head?_

_A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell._

_OH NO YOU DIDN'T!_

_God no. Not that, anyway. Seriously, bro. I'm not that fast._

_That's a slight consolation. _

_I try._

_Oh, come on, man. You leaked that image on purpose. _

_Ickickickickick. _

_Colin, Brady, nut up. _

_Thanks Jake._

_Don't thank me that quickly. I think you leaked it on purpose as well. _

_None of you understand me…_

_Damn. Looks like Jimmy's playing hardball._

_That she seems to be. It still would have been nice of him to keep his mind to himself._


	41. Chapter 41

"Leah!"

"Hey Jim. What's up?"

"When you first shifted… were there any side effects?"

"Yeah. I got freakishly tall and butch, and I started healing faster."

"Anything else…" this was setting out to be an awkward conversation.

"What's bothering you?"

"You know how when you saw me you were like 'are you pregnant'?"

"Fuck no! That was a joke! I can't believe you and Seth -"

I cut her off. "We didn't have sex. Seriously. It's just… I haven't had my period in two months and I don't know how all this freaky wolf shit works and I'm kind of freaking out right now."

Leah laughed. "I can't believe I forgot to tell you that. Your period stops once you start shifting. I assume if you stop for a while your reproductive processes will too. Wow. I can see why that would have freaked you out." She gave me a hug. "I cannot believe I didn't tell you."

Seth appeared, looking concerned. "Are you alright? I could sense your stress."

"She thought she was preggers." Said Leah.

Seth stared at me with his eyes filled with something suspiciously similar to joy.

"Wipe that expression off your face right now." I said. "No-one is going to be getting pregnant for a long time yet, so stop trying to propagate the bloodline. It's not going to be happening for a long, _long_ time. Are we clear."

"We're clear." He said, sounding somewhat disappointed. I rolled my eyes.

"Well I need to go tell mom about this lovely turn of events, so I will take my leave." Said Leah. "Seth, stop trying to get into Jimmy's pants. She's not going to let you."

I raised my eyebrows in agreement. "And you should steer clear of my place for a while. I don't think Kevin particularly likes you."

"Thanks for clearing that up, Jim. I thought the murder eyes were just for fun."

I kissed him on the cheek before scampering off.


	42. Chapter 42

_Seth. How's it cracking?_

_Not brilliantly, Quil. She's been talking to Leah. That's more effective than a chastity belt._

_You raise a valid point, but do you want to know what's even more effective? _

_Tell me._

_Statutory rape laws._

_You win._

_I do, don't I. Eleven years until she's eighteen._

_Hey guys._

_Well, if it isn't Don Juan._

_What's that supposed to mean?_

_I'm merely commenting on the fact that you work fast._

_It's not me. Cass is the one who works fast._

_Congrats, man. You have taken Seth's title of 'least fucked up imprinting story'._

_You can't do that until we see how she reacts to the news. Think of it this way: Jimmy freaked out so much that she phased. But think how much worse it could have been. There could have been flying projectiles. There could have been flame throwers. There could have been –_

_Thanks for that, Seth. Whatever helps you get to sleep at night._

_I'm just saying. If hanging out with Leah and Jimmy has taught us nothing else, it's that girls react unpredictably to news. One minute you're all complacent, and the next she's got you pinned against a wall and she's gouging out you eyes with a plastic spoon._

_What the – _

_Where did that even come from?_

_It could happen. Everything seems impossible until it happens…_

_Damn he needs to get some._

_And he won't be getting any for quite a while._

_How are you so sure?_

_Jimmy's been talking to Leah._

_Oh snap! That's just bleak._

_Sucks to be him._


	43. Chapter 43

So… To start us off, I have a couple of rants to vent. To begin with, a lot of people have been mentioning that the pack conversations are somewhat confusing and disorienting.

GOOD! If you had a half dozen or so people sharing your headspace, it would be pretty damn confusing. I stick in names or references often enough for it to be coherent. And if I don't, you're just going to have to ride the wave. If you have a problem with it, write your own fic, don't go whingeing to me.

That rant having been completed, I now must move onto my second rant. It pertains to grammar and proof reading. I received this anonymous review not too long ago. It came from someone calling themselves 'WOLFGURL17':

**i rlly like this story but the one problem i hav is that when u do the wolf**

**covos i dont know who is the and who is talking mayb if u but ther ename after**

**the sentence it would eb easier**

For the record (and to save myself the effort of inserting (sic) after every error, all eighteen, including lack of capitalisation, lack of punctuation and lack of connective words) the entire review is sic verba erat (for those of you who aren't classicists, this translates to 'in this way, the word was', and is abbreviated to (sic). Look, you learned something. Fanfiction isn't just leisure. It's informative. But moving on).

As a classicist (or as close to one as one can be without tertiary study), incorrect grammar shits me to no end. I can understand steering clear of gerundives and ablative absolutes (love them as I do), but there's no excuse for getting the simple stuff wrong such as using 'so that' instead of 'in order to'.

Incorrect grammar is bad enough, but the thing which really makes me crack the shits is incorrect spelling. If someone is reviewing a story, they are doing it on a device which, be it a computer or a smartphone, is equipped with some means of spell checking. Thus there is no excuse WHATSOEVER to spell things incorrectly in reviews. I am willing to forgive incorrect spelling in only one situation, and that is when people are texting me without the benefit of a QWERTY phone and are thus left at the mercy of either predictive text or muscular fatigue. Reviewing a fanfic is not that situation. If you're not going to make an effort, I'm going to publicly lambaste your review as well. You have been warned.

Furthermore, just so we're clear, I'm sticking (more or less) to the timeline SM set out in _The Official Illustrated Guide_ (don't judge me, I was bored) – insofar as Colin, Brady were born April 1993, and Seth January 1992. For the sake of my timeline, Leah was born 1988, not 1986 as SM mandated. Jimmy was born late 1993. Thus, this story begins in 2009.

Finally, there have been complaints regarding the convolution of my language and the complexity of my sentence structure. On this account I apologise for any mental discomfort, past, present and future. The English staff at my school (and indeed at the HSC marking centre) seem to have some vendetta against subordinate clauses, indirect statements, clauses of fear and danger and all the other things which make language fun. As a result, I use fanfiction to vent my literary floridity. Since I understand that some of you are rather more sane than I with regard to linguistics, I'll be sticking an authors note at the end of each chapter with definitions should you require them. I won't be explaining any of the grammatical features, because I honestly haven't the time or the inclination.

And so, with that having been said (perfect passive participle, anyone?), let's get on with the story.

Come Sunday, I did that which had to be done and headed over to talk to Leah. I was about fifty metres from the house when Seth appeared.

The best thing to do was to shut him down before he got any ideas. "Stop looking so hopeful, bucko. I'm here to see Leah."

"Are you sure I can't… convince you otherwise?"

"Don't even go there, Seth. You're not that good."

He leaned against the doorframe. "You might find I'm better than you think." He said, smiling cheekily.

I just raised an eyebrow. Leah slapped him on the back of the head. "I taught you to be at least slightly more evolved than that." She rolled her eyes, muttering "Philistine."

Seth stalked off; although I'm more than sure he was sending me brain messages. Or at least attempting thereto.

Leah turned back to me. "So, what can I do for you, my little cactus?"

"Cactus?"

"You're prickly and my brother seems to like you. Cactus. Now an answer, if you would."

Right. There was some circular logic. "Where can a girl get her hair cut short around here without ending up looking like a lesbian? Because that's one look I just can't rock. I'm too butch as it is."

Leah laughed. "You and me both. In actual fact this is just me with a pair of scissors. Would you like me to lay some waste?" she ushered me inside.

"Waste laying would be fantastic." I responded.

We were halfway to the bathroom when Leah suddenly stopped. "This is sanctioned?" she enquired.

"By whom?" I asked, genuinely unsure as to which authority this had to be sanctioned by.

"Your mom. The last thing either of you need is her flipping out at your new look. Things tend to escalate."

"It's sanctioned. Kevin, saint that he is, picked up pretty quickly that it was a wolfy convenience thing more than anything else and did most of the convincing on my behalf." The man was amazing. He tended to be able to work out what was wolf related and what wasn't, and was more than helpful with regard to making those things happen.

"I hope you realise that you have the best stepfather EVER." Leah pointed out.

"Oh, I do. And I appreciate greatly."

A beasty large pair of scissors were produced. Leah took me outside, stuck my head in a bucket to get my hair wet, and as I was wringing it out, asked "You're sure you want me to do this? Because once I start cutting we're well past the point of no return. And I need you willing to be my maid of honour. Which you're not going to do if you hate me."

"Sweet! I will totally be maid of honour. Although I must enquire as to whether or not you have any friends whom you've known longer etc." happy dance happy dance happy dance.

"They're all guys. Initially it was going to be Emily, but we all know how that series of events played themselves out. So I'm left with my future sister-in-law. So, can I cut?"

I took a deep breath. "Go for it. It's unworkably long. And Seth keeps playing with it. He's like a five year old, distracted by a shiny thing."

Leah snorted. "It's not your hair, it's him. He's like that all the time." She started cutting. If nothing else, my head was starting to feel lighter. After a few minutes, she was finished. "Do you want to look in a mirror, or do you trust me?"

I felt my new, much shorter haircut. It seemed neat enough. "I'll trust you. Either way, I need to get myself home to finish off my homework. I'm once again hanging with the vamps, and I'm always way too wasted to do anything afterwards, thus productivity reigns supreme."

"Ah, highschool." Said Leah, looking into the distance. "How I don't miss it."

I poked her in the stomach before heading home. "Ass."

My homework was multitudinous in its volume. It wasn't difficult per se, there was just a lot of it, predominantly pre-calc. If there was something I didn't either need or want to know, it was the theory of the parameters of a parabolic curve in its Cartesian representation.

Seth came by after a while, informing me that Jake was having a meeting in his garage prior to my acclimatisation. By the time we arrived, the rest of the pack were there. Automatically, I noted the fact that despite seeming all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, not one of them was actually relaxed. Whereas they would usually be leaning against the walls or sitting on things, they were instead each and every one of them standing up, evenly spaced. This boded ill.

"What's the deal, Jake?" I asked.

"Change of plans. Jimmy's going with Paul. She needs to get to know the other boys, and you need to learn to compartmentalise." The statement was directed at Seth, who immediately went more or less batshit crazy. It was handy that Jake and Embry had situated themselves right next to him, because they grabbed hold of him long enough for me to grab his attention.

"Cut this the fuck out. If the rest of you would excuse us, I'm going to have a private conversation with Seth here." Jake and Embry obligingly let go, and I more or less dragged Seth outside into the woods. "So what the hell was that?" I asked.

Seth thought for a moment. "Well -"

I cut him off. "Well nothing. That was you proving Jake's point. If you're going to react like that any time I'm in any kind of situation you don't like, then things are going to get very difficult, very fast."

"You can't expect me to-"

"Actually, I can and I do. You need to realise that I'm not the skinny little twelve year old who left four years ago. I'm a wolf now, and I have the same duty to protect our people as you do. The sooner you can make peace with that, the better this will be for all of us."

"That might be the case, but you don't have the capacity to handle that duty. Not yet."

I froze in my pacing and slowly turned to look at him. "If you had to choose between saving everyone on the reservation and saving me, which would you choose?"

Seth held my gaze and then dropped his eyes to the ground.

"Are we fighting?" He asked with an almost imperceptibe sigh.

"No, we're discussing."

"Are you sure?"

"Am I yelling?" I asked. "Have I started swearing at you in French? Is there a concerning looking vein pulsating in my forehead? Am I pacing? Do you feel a curious sense of impending doom?"

"No, no, no, yes and yes."

I fixed him with a glare. "Then we're not fighting." Not yet, at least. "This is something that needs to be done for both of us. Just let me go. Because I will come back." I turned back towards Jake's garage, and heard Seth heading off into the forest.

Paul was someone I recognised from around the place, but had never had reason to engage in a conversation with. He seemed alright. It was obvious that teenage girls were not a demographic he frequently had to engage with, but he managed to move past that with reasonable ease.

He was, however, under instructions to send me in on my own, and so it came to be that Alice decided to have her way with my aesthetics.

Once she was pleased with my appearance, she pointed out the fact that I hadn't even looked uncomfortable with the smell, which meant I was just about ready for phase two: being in wolf form near them. That was not something I was looking forward to especially. But I knew it was necessary, so I gave her a hug (once you got over the whole mortal enemies thing, she was quite nice) and headed back to where Paul was waiting.

"I take it you'll be heading over to see Seth?" he enquired.

"I'm sure you have other places to be. I can get myself there."

He snorted. "I'll bet you can. See you squirt." He clapped me on the shoulder and disappeared into the trees.

For the record, I did intend to see Seth; but first I had some questions in need of answering and I knew exactly who would be best for the job.

Colin and Brady were watching some kind of cage fighting or UFC show on television and occupying themselves by making condescending comments as prompted by the commentary. Stuff along the lines of 'You can bench press 500 pounds. How cute.' It struck me then that 'Woefully Uninterested Werewolf' would make a good meme. I jumped over the back of the sofa, landing between them.

"Jimmy! You stink!" was their immediate unison reaction.

"I know." I responded. "Alice hugged me. And then did my nails. The smell of the thinners in the polish is the only thing which stopped me from curling up in the foetal position and just shaking until I blacked out or went insane."

They both cringed. "You know it's a concern when you're talking about how great the thinners smelt." Pointed out Colin. As retribution I leaned my head on his shoulder, so that the hair which Alice had also had her way with was right near his nose.

"It wasn't actually that bad. She reckon I should see what happens when I'm near them in wolf form."

Colin shoved me off him onto Brady, who had a question. "So what brings you to this neck of the woods, when there's a different neck of the woods where you would be appreciated infinitely more, despite the fact that you could really use about five decontamination showers?" He was completely serious, as there was no waggling of eyebrows to accompany that statement.

"Questions, mainly."

"Care to elaborate?"

"I'm giving Seth a bit of time to cool off. He was not in a happy place when I talked to him and staying out of the way so that he can compartmentalise is the least I can do. Paul says he's going to be going through a rough time," both Colin and Brady coughed 'understatement' in a remarkably unsubtle way, "and he doesn't need mixed messages. It's for the good of the pack and so on. How bad is he?"

They seemed to be deciding who had to do the telling. Brady lost out. "From what we heard from Leah,"

"When?"

"When she told us to give Seth a bit of alone time to" inverted commas came into play "'work through his feelings'; he was seriously contemplating mutiny,"

"And by mutiny we mean the brutal murder of anyone involved in the decision making process." added Colin.

"And was pretty much freaking his shit out." Continued Brady. "From what we can gather, there are no words for what he's going through."

Suffice to say I was beginning to feel guilty.

"You said you had questions." Colin pointed out.

"Ok, why did you guys switch to Jake's pack?"

"Time for a session of 'here's what you missed'. You left in 2005. That year Leah was a junior, Sam was a year out of school. That's when Sam phased for the first time. March that year, the whole Emily thing went down. September, the Cullens left, but there were a bunch of itinerant vampires around the place, so people were still shifting. A year after the whole Emily thing, Leah shifted, Harry had a heart attack, and then Seth shifted. That, I can tell you, was a crappy night for all involved. By June, there were so many vampires in the region that we phased. We were thirteen, and it sucked. Seth, who was only fourteen but had nonetheless been through a damn sight more than we had, basically took over the role of being older brother and helped us through everything, which was great because back then there was only one pack, and Sam was not only freaking out about other things, but was not incredibly gifted when it came to working with kids. Come September, there was a bit of a brouhaha regarding who was marrying who, and who was impregnated with whose hybrid spawn etcetera, and Jake split off from Sam's pack due to philosophical differences. Seth followed him immediately due to different philosophical differences, and Leah followed about an hour after, partially to stick with Seth, but also to get out of Sam's head space. Because that was not a pleasant time for her."

Brady took over. "By January 2007, the brouhaha had passed, and Quil and Embry switched packs because of how close they were to Jake. Seth was, at that point, still helping us out with the whole wolf thing. Around May, we switched packs because our ties were to Seth more than anyone else. Come July, Josh, Max and Tim graduated from college, and by august, they had all shifted. The same thing happened with Jez and Sean when they came home for the holidays. The whole Josh thing caused quite a stir from what I hear due to his and Leah's relationship during college, but we tend not to talk about that whenever anyone's in earshot. Then everything became rather run of the mill until you arrived, and now things are getting fruity."

"Well that was a whole lot of unnecessary information to explain what was in and of itself a simple enough question."

"It'll save time in the future." it was one of those moments when they spoke in unison, thus perpetuating the myth that they were twins.

"Also," said Brady, splitting off from the unison freakiness, "Leah's at your place. She wanted to talk to you the moment you got home."

"I'm off."

In under a minute, I was at my house, where Leah sat on the porch. Seeing me, she jumped up and headed me back towards her house. "I needed to talk to you here because I don't want Seth hearing this, and he has the best hearing of any of us. I know that your tolerance towards imprinting is completely nonexistent, but I'm asking you to cut Seth a break." We turned and walked into the forest, towards the beach. Clearly this conversation was going to have some weight to it.

Leah continued. "There are some points to imprinting which you may not have been appraised of as yet, having not really spent much time inside the heads of the guys. To start with, any time spent away from you is physically painful for him. Furthermore, he is hardwired to keep you safe at all costs. Now that's all well and good, but it renders him, and through no fault of your own, you, useless in a combat situation. Ever since Taha Aki, the greatest fear any wolf has ever had was that vampires would kill their beloved. Furthermore, he can feel your discomfort when you're hanging out with them, and there's no way for him to know if you're safe or not. If it weren't for Jake mandating that Seth could not under any circumstances seek you out, he would not have let you go without him."

I noticed that we were nearly to their house, but had stopped outside of what she clearly deemed earshot. "I completely agree with you and your decision not to focus on the facets of your relationship which are outside of your control, but…" she searched for an apt method of phrasing.

I beat her to it. "Let him do what he needs to in order to reassure himself. Because he has had a tough time. And I was inadvertently the cause of it."

"You're amazing." Said Leah. "And thankyou. Because all pack business aside, he's my brother, and I hate seeing him this torn up. Go."

And so I went. I knew from Leah that Sue wasn't home, and Leah had been reasonably unsubtle about the fact that we'd be needing some privacy, but as I walked up the stairs to Seth's attic room, I had no idea what was in store.

I was crouched down, shutting the trapdoor when I was lifted off my feet and pinned pretty roughly to the wall. Adrenalin kicked in then, but I knew that Seth was stronger than I was, so I decided to see where the situation was going before I did anything. In that moment I saw a completely unfamiliar look in Seth's eyes. This was about to get interesting.

Seth put me down on the ground, and took a step back. Both of us were breathing hard. Me because of the adrenalin, him… who knew. I tried to take a step forward because I was feeling a little hemmed in, only to be lifted up again and deposited on his bed. So that's how it was going to play out.

"Are you alright?" asked Seth, still leaning over me.

I nodded. "Are you?"

In lieu of an answer, he divested me of my shirt. So I was guessing not entirely, but I didn't have too many complaints. His head was buried in the side of my neck and I was tracing the muscles of his back, really appreciating the fact that he was warm. It wasn't as if being cold was an issue for me any more, but something about being surrounded by vampires gave me a really deep chill.

Seth was working his way down my neck towards my shoulder, and I was relaxing from both the stress of hanging out with vampires, and the adrenalin rush of my initial reception.

Seth's hands moved from my hair, tracing down my stomach to the waistband of my shorts. I put my hands on his chest and pushed him away slightly.

"Not today."

He smiled slightly. "I didn't think so."

"But you're willing to try anyway?"

"Just because it's difficult, doesn't mean I shouldn't try."

I pulled his head down to mine, not entirely in the mood for conversation.

Seth thought likewise. And then some. His mouth moved back to my shoulder and bit. Hard. Almost to the point of pain, but not quite. Just enough to shock me into a gasp, and my digging my nails into his back.

I heard him chuckle. "I knew you weren't that straight laced."

"Did I ever tell you to stop?"

**A/N:** Philistine – one who is uneducated, uncouth; generally lacking in class.

Sanctioned – in this case, approved. We're not talking economic impositions.

Multitudinous – potentially not necessarily still in common usage, this is still a word used in middle English texts, so I'm going to roll with it. Basically we're talking vast amounts.

Crazy math jargon – being a 3 unit maths student (I can't be bothered converting that into international schooling), I now have numerous skills for which I no longer have use. So I'm flogging that dead horse all the way down the racetrack.

And wow. This has been a while between updates, but you have to be honest, it was a good one.


	44. Chapter 44

_WHY THE HELL WASN'T I TOLD?_

_Leah, it had nothing to do with you._

_NOTHING TO DO WITH ME? HE'S MY BROTHER. IT HAD EVERYTHING TO DO WITH ME. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA JUST HOW CLOSE HE CAME TO TRYING TO REND YOU LIMB FROM LIMB?_

_As if he would have succeeded._

_That's my POINT you fool. He doesn't care. You haven't been in the same situation he's in. NEVER has little Ren been in any situation even approximating discomfort when you haven't been there for her._

_Leah, it's –_

_He LOVES her. Not like you love Ren. That's still as innocent as she is. Jimmy's… Jimmy's his everything in every possible way. When she's hanging with the vampires, he can barely stand it even when he's there with her. And you thought it would be a good idea to send her in ALONE? If ANY harm, however trivial, were to come to her when he wasn't there to protect her, it would kill him. _

_It had to happen sooner or later. He's nothing but a liability whenever she's with him._

_Was this the way it had to happen?_

_Leah, I'm doing my best. You know that. This situation has never existed and now it's my job to make the best of it. The fastest way to fix this would be to completely cut him off from her. No distractions, and he'll be able to actually compartmentalise. _

_You can't. That actually WOULD kill him. He needs her, as well you know. Is there really so much immediate danger that he can't work through it slowly? With her?_

_I don't know. That's the problem. And Jimmy needs to know that it's her against them. Not her and Seth. Just her. She needs to learn that there's going to be a day someday when he isn't there to protect her. And she needs to be able to protect herself when that day comes._

_They're just kids, Jake. Can't they actually have the last of their childhood without it being ruined like ours?_

_It's already been ruined. There's no going back from this, and you know it. Just stay strong for him. He looks up to you, and he's going to need all the help he can get. Why is it that you keep managing to make me feel guilty, Leah?_

_Because you know I'm right, Jake. You know I'm right and you know there's nothing to do about the fact that in order for what needs to be done to be done, you have to be the cause of my little brother's misery. That's the peril of leadership, Jake. Someone always gets the short end of the stick. You just have to hope that someday it's worth it._


End file.
